SF 489 
. A6 V3 
1924 
Copy 1 


. ] I STORY of the ANCONAS 

BY FCW. VAN HOESEN 

FRANKLINVILLE.N.Y. PRICE $ 1.50 


























COPYRIGHTED 1913 PUBLISHED BY 

By R. w. van hoesen SINGLECOMBANCONAS the ancona world 

FRANKLINVILLE, N. Y. FR AN K LIN VILLE, N. Y. 








































































































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HISTORY OP ANCONAS 


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OF ANCONAS 


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Copyrighted 19 * 24 " l»y 
Roy W. Van I loosen, Franklinville, N. Y. 


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HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


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The first History of Anccnas was written and published by me in small 
booklet form in 1911, to supply the demand for information about this then little 
known breed. 

At that time Anconas were not pictured in the American Standard of Per¬ 
fection, nor were they to any extent exhibited at the poultry shows, or advertised 
in the poultry magazines. 

Wherever Anconas had become known they excited much admiration by 
their pronounced beauty, alertness, quick development, and remarkable egg 
production, and soon a larger and more comprehensive treatise on the breed 
was urgently called for. 

This I supplied early in 1915, when I issued a 100-page book, well illustrated, 
and filled with Ancona data down to that date. The book was given a splendid 
reception by the Ancona fraternity, the poultry press and poultry judges, and 
the large edition was entirely sold before this present edition was undertaken. 

Since the 1915 edition was published, the official Egg-Laying Contests have 
been wonderfully extended and developed wherever poultry is kept, and in all 
parts of the world these contests have proven that the claims made by Ancona 
breeders have not been exaggerated. In this revised edition I have brought 
these remarkable records of Anconas in official contests down to date. 

Until very recent years Anconas had no part in the immense volume of 
business conducted on commercial egg farms. Now, however, this breed is one 
of the leaders in that great industry, and at the present rate of increase bids 
fair to soon stand at the head in numbers, as it already does in net piofit pei biid. 

A radical change was made in the American Standard of Perfection for 
Anconas in 1923. This was done at the request of leading Ancona breeders 
and The United Ancona Club, to keep pace with the improvement and advance¬ 
ment of the breed during the past few years. 

I have endeavored to bring this edition of the History of Anconas right 
to date in every particular, and present only such statements as can be verified. 
My experience of over twenty years breeding Anconas, editing and publishing 
an exclusively Ancona magazine since 1910, and serving as Secretary of the 
Club since its organization, has made me very familiar with Anconas from 
every angle, and I hope that in presenting to the poultry craft this revised 
edition of the History of Anconas I have done the breed justice, and made a 
book instructive, interesting, and of historical value. 

ROY W. VAN HOESEN 

Franklinville, New York, U. S. A., 1923. 


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Ancona Geography 




Anconas are the native fowls of the 
province of Ancona, Italy, where they 
have been pure bred for centuries, and 
are therefore a Mediterranean breed. 

The Marches is a geographical des¬ 
ignation which embraces the Province 
and the City of Ancona, on the eastern 
coast of Italy. The accompanying out¬ 
line map shows the exact location. 
Italy is boot-like in form, and the City 
of Ancona is a seaport on the Adriatic 
Sea, on the east coast where the pen¬ 
insula has the greatest breadth. 


Some writers have designated An¬ 
cona as an island, but that is not true. 

The climate of Italy is very diversi¬ 
fied, ranging from below zero in the 
mountain regions to 109 degrees above 
in the lowlands during the hot season. 
No doubt this accounts for the extreme 
hardiness of Ancona fowls and their 
adaptability to the varied climates of 
the United States of America and Can¬ 
ada. 



Outline? Map of Italy 

Showing the location of Ancona and The Marches. 







HISTORY OP ANCONAS 


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3 

Ancona ( characteristics 

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The word “characteristic” has a. 
broad meaning, and this chapter uses 
the term in its fullest sense, of deno¬ 
ting distinctive qualities or distinguish¬ 
ing traits. 

The predom'nant feature of the 
breed is EGGS. Eggs in great num¬ 
bers, winter Eggs, very large Eggs, 
White Eggs, Eggs produced at less cost 
per dozen than any other breed of 
fowls ever did, and Eggs from pullets 
four to ten weeks younger than from 
pullets of any other breed. 

I maintain that the poultry business 
is carried on mainly for egg production, 
and that the profit in poultry is in eggs. 
Anyone wishing to produce meat for 
profit can do it to much better ad¬ 
vantage with four-legged animals, and 
should raise rabbits and hogs instead 
of poultry. 

Five Anconas will thrive on the 
amount of food necessary to maintain 
three of the heavier American, Asiatic 
or English birds, and Anconas are also 
easier keepers than any other of the 
smaller Mediterranean fowls. To this 
characteristic, and the fact that An¬ 
conas produce more eggs per year, and 
a larger per cent of eggs during the 
winter months when the price of eggs 
is high, is due the fact that Anconas 
excel all other breeds for profit. 

Another characteristic of Anconas is 
their large eggs, weighing 24 to 32 
ounces per dozen. This makes them 
preferred in market, and more particu 
larly will this be true when eggs are 
sold by weight, as they should be, and 
as Ancona breeders have urged for 
years. 

Anconas are non-setters, and while 
an occasional hen will become broody 
during the late breeding season, she is 


easily broken up and resumes laying. 
It is unwise to depend on Anconas to 
hatch eggs, and if a breeder wishes to 
use hens for hatching it is best to se¬ 
cure Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island 
Reds, etc., for that purpose. 

Anconas are remarkable for their 
hardiness, and this applies to them 
from baby chicks to maturity: The 
baby chicks are very lively and vigor¬ 
ous, and are less liable to disease and 
ailments that affect more delicate 
chicks. Therefore errors in feeding 
and brooding are less disastrous when 
amateurs have Anconas. Mature birds 
are exceptionally well adapted to the 
rigors of the winters in northern Uni¬ 
ted States and Canada, where this pro¬ 
nounced characteristic has helped to 
make them so popular. 

On free range Anconas are very self 
reliant, and forage far beyond the 
areas to which fowls usually confine 
themselves. In the confinement of vil¬ 
lage and city back lots Anconas are 
tame and contented, and do not chafe 
in small quarters. 

Early maturity is such a prominent 
characteristic of Anconas, that it is 
always remarked upon by breeders. 
Hatched and brooded alongside of any 
other breeds, Anconas will develop 
very much the fastest. Their wing and 
tail feathers grow faster, their combs 
are larger at any stage of growth, they 
are fit for light broilers ahead of others, 
the roosters will crow first, and pullets 
will begin to lay at 16 to 20 weeks of 
age, while other breeds rarely begin 
to lay younger than 6 or 7 months. 

Anconas are an extremely attractive 
fowl, and their trim appearance, proud 
carriage, alertness, handsome plumage 
of black-and-white, and uniformity of 
color make such a pleasing sight that 
they never fail to attract attention. 
They always are greatly admired in 
the show room, on the lawn, in the pen, 
cr on range. 












HISTORY OF ANCONAS 




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Ancona Sfandarc 1 


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The American Standard of Perfec¬ 
tion, a handsomely illustrated and sub¬ 
stantially bound book of over 400 
pages, devotes six pages to Anconas, 
including a full-page illustration of the 
ideal Ancona male and female. Every 
detail of shape, color, marking, of every 
section of both male and female is 
given, and every person interested in 
properly breeding Anconas must be¬ 
come familiar with the Standard. The 
book is copyrighted by the publishers, 
The American Poultry Association, and 
therefore cannot be fully reprinted in 
this Ancona History. A description of 
the Standard with price, is given else¬ 
where in this book. 

The Standard weight of an Ancona 
cock is 5 V 2 pounds; cockerel 4y 2 
pounds; hen 4y 2 pounds; pullet 3% 
pounds. Both male and female should 
have live pointed, deeply serrated 
combs. Both male and female should 
have tails carried at an angle of 45 


degrees above horizontal. (This is 
shown in the illustrations in the Stan¬ 
dard,). Shanks and toes on both male 
and female should be yellow, or yellow 
mottled with black. Under-color of all 
sections on both male and female 
should be dark slate. 

In different sections of plumage the 
proportion of white-tipped feathers 
differ, and they are not the same in 
both male and female; the proportion 
in different sections being one-in-two 
and one-in-three. A study of the Stan¬ 
dard is necessary to become familiar 
with proper, or Standard markings. 
The Standard demands a small, sharp¬ 
ly defined white tip, the size of which 
should be proportionate to the width of 
the feather. The effect of an even 
tipping over the entire surface is most 
desirable, and even more important 
than the exact number of feathers 
which are tipped with white as deter¬ 
mined by acutal count. 


1923 Revision American Standard of Perfection 



By which every Poultry Show is Judged. 

The only authority for judging, selecting, mating 
and breeding pure bred poultry. 

The Chapter on Anconas is quite different than 
previous editions, and the new Ancona illustra¬ 
tions are much the best that have been shown in 
the Standard since the breed was admitted. 
Over 100 new illustrations; cloth bound. 

Price of Booh $2.50 postpaid. 

An invaluable aid to every poultry raiser, con¬ 
taining much general information and Standard 
for every breed of chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks. 
If you haven’t bought your copy, order now from 


The Ancona World, Franklinville, Netu Yorh 







































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Ancona K(j(js 

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In a comparative test of a pen each 
of Anconas and Leghorns, hatched and 
brooded together, and thereafter given 
the very same conditions, feeds and 
care, T. H. Holmes, Route 1, Arcadia, 
Cal., an expert breeder and poultry- 
man of wide experience, found that 
the Anconas laid more eggs every 
month than the Leghorn, consumed 
less feed and the Ancona eggs were 
larger and heavier than the Leghorn 
eggs. Taking all the eggs on a day 
when each breed laid the same num¬ 
ber, he found by weighing that the Leg¬ 
horns laid 44 per cent pullet eggs (18 
to 22 ounces); 44 per cent extras (22 
to 26 ounces); and 12 per cent double 
extras (26 ounces and over). The An¬ 
conas laid no pullet eggs, 75 per cent 
extras, and 25 per cent double extras. 



First Prize Ancona Eggs 
Purdue University Egg Shorn, Indiana 


In the Harper Adams National Egg- 
Lay ng Contest, England, 1919-1920, 
the eggs from the several breeds rep¬ 
resented averaged as follows in 


weight: White Leghorn eggs 2.05 
ounces each; White Wyandotte eggs 
2.01 ounces each; Plymouth Rock eggs 
2.06 ounces each; Rhode Island Red 
eggs 2.03 ounces each; Sussex eggs 
2.07 ounces each; Orpington eggs 1.96 
ounces each; Ancona eggs 2.08 ounces 
each. 


In the Eighth Egg-Laying Contest, 
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, the 
White Leghorn eggs averaged 25.1 
ounces per dozen; Wyandottes 24.76 
ounces per dozen; Barred Plymouth 
Rocks 23.79 ounces per dozen; R. I. 
Reds 26.1 ounces per dozen; Ancona 
eggs 26.3 'ounces per dozen. Report 
signed by J. R. Terry, Chief Poultry 
Instructor. 

Early in January, 1921, at the 
Proviso Poultry Show, Melrose Park, 
Chicago, Ill., the first prize for color, 
uniformity, and size of eggs was award¬ 
ed John L. Cramer of Evanston, Ill., on 
Ancona eggs. Judge Sturtevant pro¬ 
nounced them the nicest eggs he ever 
saw. The dozen eggs weighed 31 
ounces. 

R. G. Williams, Illmo, Mo., trap nests 
his Anconas, and up to the time this 
report was furnished (May 16, 1923), 
his Ancona pullet No. 210 laid as fol¬ 
lows: November 25 eggs; December 
26 eggs; January 27 eggs; February 
2'i eggs; March 31 eggs; April 30 
eggs; to May 16, 16 eggs—a total of 
182 eggs in 197 consecutive days. 


Henzler Bros., St. Louis, Mo., have 
Ancona pullets laying at less than four 
months old. 














10 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


Leonard H. Cooper, 1813 29th Ave., 
West, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has a 
flock of Anconas that gave a fifty per 
cent egg production during February, 
when for that month the sun did not 
shine for five days; the temperature 
was zero or below for twenty days; 
one night mercury went 32 degrees be¬ 
low zero. One week of that month 
his birds produced in eggs 21V 2 per 
cent of their own weight. The pullet 
eggs averaged 2 6y 2 ounces to the 
dozen. 


Al. Bischoff, Ballston, Spa, N. Y., 
sold Mr. Estes of same place fifty An¬ 
cona eggs. Forty-seven chicks were 
hatched, and the first pullet egg was 
laid four months and four days after 
incubation. 


G. G. McLaurin of Dillon, S. Car., had 
Ancona cockerel crow at 32 days of 
age, and pullet from same brood lay 
her first egg when three months and 
fifteen days old. 


E. L. Pierce, 1224 West Third St., 
Pratt, Kansas, started 1920 with 93 An¬ 
cona hens; they made him $335.85 
above all expense during the year, and 
105 pullets to increase his flock. Sever¬ 
al pullets began laying when four 
months and eleven days old. 


Carl Reinke, Middleton, Wis., had 
45 Ancona females (thirty pullets and 
fifteen hens) that in December, 1922, 
laid 841 egs. The market price of the 
eggs was 65 cents per dozen,—$42.05. 
The feed consumed cost $8, leaving a 
net profit of more than 75 cents per 
bird. The first half of the month the 
thermometer registered below zero 
every morning. 


C. S. Cole, Sullivan, Ohio, for two 
years had Ancona pullets laying when 
sixteen weeks old. 


Mrs. R. H. Jorgensen, Dannebrog, 
Nebraska, has the Ancona pullet that 
won Championship at the Nebraska 
State Fair in 1922, that began laying 
when sixteen weeks old. 


Mrs. Leo Dupee, Route A, Helena, 
Montana: I raised 700 Anconas in 1920, 
and had an Ancona pullet laying at 
three months and eleven days old, and 
she laid good all winter. I also had 
an Ancona cockerel that crowed when 
28 days old. I have not lost an An¬ 
cona from sickness in my two’ years' 
experience. 


Nels Pearson, Box 143, Groveland, 
Florida, had two Ancona hens that in 
365 consecutive days laid 335 and 339 
eggs respectively by trap nest record. 
A pullet from one of these hens laid 
142 eggs in 150 days. 


M. D. Goodson, Abingdon, Va., has 
bred Anconas eight years. He keeps 
books cn his flock, and they have paid 
him a net profit of $6.20 per bird in 
a year. 


E. H. Harlan, New Market, Ind., had 
65 Ancona pullets that had laid 1322 
eggs when they were six months old. 
They began to lay when three months 
and twenty-eight days old. 


O. M. Morse, Fort Scott, Kansas, had 
an Ancona pullet that laid her first egg 
when four months and four days old, 
and within seventeen days laid fifteen 
eggs. Several of her mates laid before 
they were five months old. 

Thomas H. Galligan, 40 Bates Road, 
Brockton, Mass., had several Ancona 
pullets laying before four months old; 
one of them laid her first egg at three 
months and one week old. 












HISTORY OP ANCONAS 


11 


T. A. Ell'ott, Brooks, Maine, claims 
the champion early laying pullet, an 
Ancona that laid her first egg when 
eighty-eight days old. 

A. L. Helvin, Norfolk, Va., had nine 
out of eleven February hatched An¬ 
cona pullets laying when seventeen 
weeks old. 

Jeff H. Allen, Springfield, Mo., had 
several Ancona pullets laying at six¬ 
teen weeks old. 


C. A. Newton, Vassar, Mich., had one 
of his Ancona pullets lay in the coop 
while at the poultry show. She was 
three months and fifteen days old. 


Mrs. J. F. McMurray, Van Buren, 
Ohio, had April hatched Ancona pullets 
weigh four pounds each in November. 
They were laying at four and one-half 
months old. 

\ 


J. W. Gardner of Summerfield, Fla., 
reports his Ancona pullets laying at 
four months and one day old. 

Charles W. Hall, Millbury, Ohio, has 
42 Ancona hens, two and three years 
old, that in ten months laid 6,967 eggs. 


Several breeders in different parts 
of the country have reported that they 
had Ancona hens that by actual trap- 
nest records laid two full sized eggs in 
one day. In several instances the 
same birds repeated the performance. 
It did not interfere with these same 
hens laying the regular egg-a-day on 
other days. Two names and addresses 
are here given, of well known and re¬ 
liable Ancona breeders who have sever¬ 
al such Ancona hens in their flocks— 
H. Steffensmeyer, 2112 Calvert St., 
Lincoln, Nebraska; and Robert Elliott, 
240 Regal Ave., St. Vital, Manitoba, 
Canada. 








12 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


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Anconas in Laying (Contests 

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Official Egg-Laying Contests are of 
recent origin, and are increasing in 
number and efficiency. Many County, 
State and National associations, col¬ 
leges and experiment stations are now- 
conducting these contests, and much 
valuable information is being made 
available about feeds, housing, care, 
culling, etc., etc. 

These contests are open to all breeds 
and breeders, and have taken the place 
of private contests and records in the 
confidence of the public. If a breeder 
wants to advertise remarkable per¬ 
formances of his birds now-a-days, an 
official record is given credence, 
while private records and extravagant 
claims not substantiated by official 
records are of little significance. 

It’s up to Ancona breeders to supply 
pens of Anconas to these official Lay¬ 
ing Contests, so that the breed may 
be sufficiently represented, along with 
other breeds, to make the tests and 
comparisons fair and equal. Up to 
1923, when this book was published. 
Anconas have only been occasionally 
entered in the official contests, and 
were outnumbered sometimes ten to 
one by other breeds. Under such con¬ 
ditions Anconas have been to a great 
disadvantage, as there have been so 
many more chances for the several 
pens of other breeds to win over a 
single pen, or a very few pens of An¬ 
conas when compared to several times 
as many pens of each contesting breed. 

Nevertheless, with this severe handi¬ 
cap, Anconas have in a great many 
official contests, of national and inter¬ 
national import, won highest honors, 
and give very tangible evidence that 


when the number of pens of Anconas 
equal the number of pens of other 
breeds, (he honors won by Anconas 
will startle the poultry world, and 
prove to everyone that the claims of 
Ancona breeders are unquestionably 
true,—that Anconas lay more eggs, 
larger eggs, and on less feed, than any 
other known breed of fowls. 

During the many years that The An¬ 
cona World magazine has been pub¬ 
lished, scarcely an issue but contains 
a report of Anconas winning over all 
other breeds in one or more of the 
scores of official egg-laying contests 
being conducted in the United States, 
Canada, England, Australia, South 
Africa, Belgium and other lands. These 
Ancona victories have been more fre¬ 
quent of late because Ancona entries 
in the contests have been increasing- 
in number. 

The following extracts are taken 
from different issues of The Ancona. 
World: 

Here are the figures from the official 
Report of the Canadian Egg-Laying 
Contest at Ottowa, Ontario, for 1921, 
of the five hundred hens in the Con¬ 
test: 


Breed 

Aver. Prod. 

Mortality 

Anconao 

164.7 

--- 10% 

Leghorns 

155.3 . 

-- 2l%: 

Orpingtons 

_ 110.3 

--- 35%. 

R. I. Reds 

_ 120.6 _ . 

— 15% 

Plymouth Rocks 

-- 146.1 

— 21% 

Wyndottesi __ 

132.9 

-- 16% 





















HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


Circular No. 150, issued by the Col¬ 
lege of Agriculture, University of Ar¬ 
kansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, certi¬ 
fied to by Prof. S. R. Strout, in charge 
of the Seventh Arkansas State Egg 
Laying Contest, 1921, and approved by 
Bradford Knapp, Dean and Director; 
also by H. E. Dvoracheck, Head of 
Dept.. gives out these figures: “The 
amount of feed, gra n and dry mash, 
required by different breeds to pro¬ 
duce one dozen eggs is: 


Barred Rocks-5.72 pounds 

White Rocks-6.81 pounds 

Columbia Rocks_6.80 pounds 

Rhode Islands _7.19 pounds 

White Wyandottes __ 5.85 pounds 
S. C. White Leghorns 4.91 pounds 

Buff Orpingtons_7.07 pounds 

Mottled Anconas _4.66 pounds' 



The Missouri Experiment Station 
has a reputation of being one of the 
very best in the country, and in its Na¬ 
tional Egg Laying Contest, in which 
nearly twenty different breeds partici¬ 
pated, aggregating over one thousand 
hens, it was found that one hundred 
pounds of feed, consumed by different 
breeds, produced eggs as follows: 


Anconas _ 300 eggs 

Leghorns _ 268 eggs 

Wyandottes _251 eggs 

Orp ngtons _ 230 eggs 

Camp.'nes _ 225 eggs 

Minorcas _ 203 eggs 

Plymouth Rocks-188 eggs 

Langshans _179 eggs 


And in addition to the wonderful ad¬ 
vantage of the Anconas, the Ancona 
eggs weighed more per dozen than 
eggs from any other breed. And An¬ 
conas laid the largest per cent of eggs 
during the winter months. 


13 

The 1920 Manitoba Egg-Laying Con¬ 
test, conducted by the Dominion Ex¬ 
periment Farm at Brandon, Manitoba, 
Canada, closed October 30, 1920. The 
Contest began November 1, 1919, and 
continued for one year. 

Each pen in the Contest contained 
ten birds. There were pens of Barred 
Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, 
White Leghorns, Brown Leghorns, 
White Wyandottes, Silver Laced Wyan¬ 
dottes, Buff Orpingtons, Partridge Ply¬ 
mouth Rocks, Campines, and Anconas. 

The Plymouth Rock pens made rec¬ 
ords of 966, 1243, and 1317 eggs for the 
year, 

The Rhode Island Red pen made a 
record of 1830 eggs for the year. 

The Wyandotte pens made a record 
of 1361, 1482, 1765, and 1842 eggs for 
the year. 

The Leghorn pens made a record of 
1367, 1479, and 1722 eggs for the year. 

The Ancona pen made a record of 
2041 eggs for the year, winning by a 
large margin over nine other breeds. 

These figures furnished by W. C. Mc- 
Killican, B. S. A., Superintendent of the 
Dominion Experiment Farms, and W. 
Watkins, manager of the Contest, un¬ 
der date of November 3, 1920. 

It is interesting to note that no pen 
of any breed in the several Egg-Laying 
Contests held in various Provinces of 
Canada, equalled this Ancona record. 

Canada has an extremely cold winter 
climate, and the winter of 1919-1920 
was especially severe, yet Anconas 
made a remarkable egg record. 



The three highest pens in the Mur- 
physboro, Ill., Egg-Laying Contest 1921- 
22 are Anconas. The highest egg rec¬ 
ord for an individual hen in this Con¬ 
test is also held by an Ancona. 















14 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


From the May, 1922, Official Report 
of R. K. Bliss, Director, Iowa State 
Agricultural College, Ames, Iowa, Poul¬ 
try Division, the following is taken: 
Between 240 and 250 Record Flocks 
of purebred poultry are registered, 
comprising Rhode Island Reds (both 
combs), Barred Plymouth Rocks, Wh'te 
Plymouth Rocks, Buff Plymouth Rocks, 
White Wyandottes, Buff Wyandottes, 
Silver Wyandottes, White Leghorns, 
Buff Leghorns, Brown Leghorns (both 
combs), White Orpingtons, Buff Orping¬ 
tons, Black Minorcas, and Anconas,—a 
total of 39,240 birds. As the number of 
fowls in each separate flock is record¬ 
ed, and the number of eggs laid each 
day, it is a simple matter to figure out 
the per cent of egg yield of each flock. 
Here are the figures: Twelve flocks 
averaged between 20% and 30%; thir¬ 
ty-four flocks averaged between 30% 
and 40%; eighty-four flocks averaged 
between 40% and 50%; seventy-three 
flocks averaged between 50% and 
00%,; thirty-five flocks averaged be¬ 
tween 60% and 70%; four flocks aver¬ 
aged between 70% and 80%,; and but 
one fiock averaged over 80% and that 
was a flock of Anconas, which reached 
the extremely high average of 89.9%, 
lacking but one-tenth of one per cent 
of reaching 90%. The lowest Ancona 
average in the several Ancona flocks 
was 62%. 



The following is an extract from the 
English Egg-Laying Contest, 1921-1922. 
held at Dodnash Priory Farm, Bentley, 
Suffolk, England, by the Utility Poul¬ 
try Society in conjunction with the 
Great Eastern Railway Company: For 
this month (June) the records show a 
further shrinkage in production,—the 
tally of eggs falling from 24,874 to 
22,395, a decrease of 2,479 eggs for the 
month. This decline was more pro¬ 


nounced amongst the White Leghorns, 
their average for the month falling 
from 18.43 eggs per b'rd to 15.62. All 
the other eight breeds, with the ex¬ 
ception of Anconas, also show more 
or less heavy declines. 



The S : xth Annual National Egg-Lay¬ 
ing Contest of Texas State Agr.'cu’tural 
College began November 1, 1922. At 
the end of five months (the last re¬ 
port received before this book went 
to press) the official record showed 
that White Leghorns produced 1.04 
eggs per pound of feed consumed; 
Rhode Island Reds produced 1.03 eggs 
per pound of feed consumed; Anconas 
produced 2.10 eggs per pound of feed 
consumed. 



The final report of the 1922 National 
Egg-Laying Contest shows that best 
Ancona hen and best Leghorn hen tied 
with 271 eggs each for the year. The 
average production of these two breeds 
for the year was almost identical— 
Anconas 193.28; Leghorns 193.5. The 
best laying strains of Leghorns in the 
World were in the Contest, from Eng¬ 
land’s famous strains, D. Tancred’s 
world renowned layers, and others. 



The Seventh Arkansas State Egg-- 
Laying Contest, conducted by the Col¬ 
lege of Agriculture, University of Ar¬ 
kansas, Fayetteville, Ark., began in No¬ 
vember, 1920. The first four months 
the pen of Anconas won over seventy 
other birds, and while only fifteen eggs 
ahead of the next highest pen (Barred 
Rocks), the Ancona eggs weighed 50)4 
ounces more than those produced by 
the Rocks. 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


15 


The Poultry Division of Iowa State 
College has nearly thirty poultry dem¬ 
onstration farms in half as many coun¬ 
ties, under direction of the County 
Farm Bureau Managers. The breeds 
consist of several flocks of Leghorns, 
Rocks, Reds, and Orpingtons, and one 
flock of Anconas. The December, 1920, 
report showed that 75% of the flocks 
made an egg yield of from 1.3% to 15%, 
and several flocks showed a loss in¬ 
stead of a gain. The Anconas showed 
an egg yield of 17%, and over a 100% 
profit. Pretty good argument for An¬ 
conas for farm flocks. 



In 1914 Prof. A. F. Rolf, in charge 
of Poultry Husbandry at A. & M. Col¬ 
lege, Stillwater, Oklahoma, reported 
that Ancona pullet No. 385, bred and 
owned by the Oklahoma Agricultural 
College, laid her first egg April 27, 
1914, at the age of 107 days. January 
18 of that year she was one of a lot 
of chicks placed in an express car, and 
in three weeks travelled nearly 10,000 
miles, viewed by over 50,000 people, 
in the Demonstration Train. Another 
Ancona pullet laid her first egg May 3, 
at 113 days old. None of the pullets 
of other breeds laid for weeks there¬ 
after. Mr. Rolf never knew of such 
early egg production. 



In the British Columbia, Canada, 
1918 Egg-Laying Contest, the winners 
over all others was a pen of Anconas. 



In the 1920 Egg-Laying Contest at 
the State Agricultural College, Morris- 
ville, New York, Anconas won over all 
other breeds. 



The report for 209 days of the 1920 
Midland Laying Competition, England. 


showed that in the light breeds an An¬ 
cona pullet led with 199 eggs; second, 
a Buff Leghorn, with 186 eggs; third, a 
Black Leghorn, with 152 eggs. 



The University of Arkansas College 
of Agriculture Fayetteville, Ark., con¬ 
ducts an Egg-Laying Contest. Official 
records of the six leading Contests in 
the United States show that egg pro¬ 
duction in the Arkansas Contest is 
above the average of the six contests. 
The official record of S. R. Strout, As¬ 
sistant Professor of Poultry Hus¬ 
bandry, in charge of the Arkansas Con¬ 
test, shows that a pen of ten Anconas 
beat seven pens of seventy other birds 
during the first four months of the 
Seventh Arkansas State Egg-Laying 
Contest. The four months ended at 
the time the issue of The Ancona 
World went to press, from which this 
item was taken. 



In the 1921 Canadian Government 
Egg-Laying Contest for Ontario, N. H. 
Gampp’s Anconas won first prize over 
all other Canadian Contest Pens of a 
score of breeds, for profit over cost of 
feed,— averaging $5.89 profit per hen. 
This pen of Anconas led all other pens 
in the Contest for the year, until the 
last week they lost out by eight eggs. 



Ancona Eggs (2) Compared uuth Leghorn 
Eggs (1) and Orpington Eggs (3) 





HISTORY OP ANCONAS 



ANCONAS LEAD AS USUAL. 

These interesting* figures are taken 
from the official report of the sixth 
month (April 1923) of the sixth Na¬ 
tional Egg Laying Contest at the 
Texas Agricultural College, College 
Station, Texas. 

Thus it is proven again, as it has 
been in nearly all laying contests all 
over the world for year after year, 
that Anconas produce eggs at less 
cost per dozen than any other breed. 
There is no disputing this fact. No 
other breed lays any claims to this 
distinction. It is an exclusive An¬ 
cona characteristic. 



Pounds feed per doz. eggs 
Cost feed per doz. eggs 
Pounds mash per doz. eggs 
Cost mash per doz. egg's 


Leghorns 

6.24 

.133 

3.26 

.08 


Anconas 

5.33 

.112 

2.52 

.06 


R. I. Reds 

8.27 

.182 

5.13 

.12 


Ply. Rocks 

5.37 

.125 

2.89 

.07 









HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


17 



ANCONA PRINTING —We make a specialty of mail-order printing, 
and prepay delivery. Our equipment is up-to-date in every way, 
and our service is prompt and efficient. Samples and price list 
free. Largest assortment of Ancona cuts in existence. 

ANCONA ADVERTISING —Full page display advertisement in An¬ 
cona World, $40 per issue; y 2 page $20; page $10; $3 per inch. 
Classified ad., 6 cents per word per issue. The Ancona World 
is read by Ancona breeders in every English-speaking country 
on the globe. 

ANCONA POST CARDS —Front, regular postal form and pictures of 
Anconas, with suitable words of boosting. Just the thing for 
acknowledging orders, advice of shipment, and brief correspon¬ 
dence. Should be used by every Ancona breeder. $1 per hun¬ 
dred; 15 cents per dozen, postpaid. 

ANCONA STICKERS —Ornamental Gummed Stickers about two inches 
square, containing picture of Ancona hen and two dozen words 
of boosting. Suitable for use on back of envelopes, checks, 
shipping boxes and coops, etc.; 35 cents per hundred. 

ANCONA CIRCULARS —“Anconas in Laying Contests” 75 cents per 100. 
“Anconas on Commercial Egg Farms” 75 cents per 100. Six- 
page Ancona Booster Folder, containing cuts of Single and Rose 
Comb mature male and female Anconas, baby chicks, part-grown 
chicks and eggs and description of the breed. Just the thing 
for breeders to enclose with letters and catalogs; $1.75 per 100. 

ANCONA ENGRAVINGS —Largest assortment in existence, both line 
and half-tone cuts of great variety. About fifty differents cuts, 
ranging in price from $1 to $3. Suitable for cards, envelopes, 
letterheads, tags, labels, circulars, catalogs, display ads. and 
magazine articles. Proof sheets on request. We also make 
engravings from photographs for breeders. 

Roy W. Van Hoesen, Editor and Publisher 
Franklinville - New York 








IS 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


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STIER’S 
Single Comb Anconas 

Those Wonderful 



the strain universally recognized as the Leader as asked for in the 
ideal Anc-ona. A strain that through years of intelligent study and 
breeding have reached a state of perfection delightful to the eye of 
expert Breeders and Fanciers. 



Blue Ribbon winners for years at Madison Square Garden and 
Chicago Coliseum. 

Originated by 

Frank C. Slier - Ancona Specialist 

1270 Manor Park Avenue Lakewood, Ohio 


Southern Branch 

Wm. P. Hunter, Mgr. Johnson City, Tenn 

* —— • 








HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


19 


ANCONAS AHEAD AS ALWAYS 

Four farm flocks of chickens super¬ 
vised by the Extension Service of Iowa 
State College for the purpose of secur¬ 
ing accurate records on the production 
of eggs, averaged more than 75% pro¬ 
duction for June, 1923. 


Here are the official figures as fur¬ 
nished by the State College: 


No. and 

Feed 

% egg 

Breed 

Cost 

Production 

78 R. I. Reds 

$29.50 

75.7% 

142 White Leghorns 

$16.93 

77.0% 

155 Mixed 

$25.29 

76.1% 

155 Anconas 

$ 7.00 

78.7% 


The largest per cent egg production 
means something in favor of Anconas, 
but look at feed cost! 


It cost 37 cents per hen to feed Rhode 
Island Reds for the month. 

It cost 12 cents per hen to feed White 
Leghorns for the month. 

It cost 16 cents per hen to feed the 
mixed flock for the month. 

It cost but 5 cents per hen to feed 
Anconas for the month, or less than 
one-half what it cost to feed Leghorns, 
less than one-third what it cost to feed 
mongrels, and less than one-seventh 
what it cost to feed Rhode Island Reds. 

You fellows who buy feed for a few 
hundred hens, just figure up the saving 
on Anconas for one month, multiply it 
by 12, and see what an additional pro¬ 
fit Anconas make per year over other 
breeds. Most any other breeds of same 
class could be substituted for Leg¬ 
horns and Reds, and results would be 
practically the same, as compared with 
Anconas. 

The foregoing champion Ancona 
flock in the month of July led all other 
flocks by a still greater margin- 
reaching the remarkable figure of 80.8 
per cent egg production. No other 
flock in the State of Iowa reached as 
high as 74 per cent for July. 


ANCONA MAGAZINE 

In April, 1910, The Ancona World 
magazine was established by Roy W. 
Van Hoesen, Franklinville, N. Y., and 
has since been continued without in¬ 
terruption. 

It is published in the interests of 
Ancona breeders, fanciers and clubs 
all over the World, and circulates in 
practically every English speaking- 
country on the globe, besides many 
foreign speaking lands. 

Each issue contains the current news 
and activities of Ancona breeders in 
shows, contests, business, club doings, 
meets, boosting stunts, etc., and special 
articles by the editor, and many men 
and women contributors; also engrav¬ 
ings of Anconas, well known breed¬ 
ers, advertisements, etc., etc. 

The subscription price is 50 cents 
per year, or three years for $1. No 
extra postage outside the United 
States. Every subscription is stopped 
#t expiration of time paid for. 

The advertising rate is $40 per page 
per issue; y 2 page $20; % page $10. 
Less space $3 per inch. Classified 
ads 6 cents per word per issue. 

The Ancona World has the largest 
stock of Ancona engravings in exist¬ 
ence, and has duplicates for sale. Also 
makes engravings for breeders, from 
photographs. And does printing for 
breeders everywhere, using any of its 
engravings, and prepaying delivery. 
Also sells special Ancona items, includ¬ 
ing Ancona Post Cards, Ancona Gum¬ 
med Stickers, Ancona Boosting Cir¬ 
culars of several kinds, and general 
Pc 1 try Supplies, such as leg bands, 
chick toe punches, shipping crates and 
boxes for fowls, chicks and eggs, poul¬ 
try books, including American Stan¬ 
dard of Perfection, etc. 

Address: The Ancona World, Frank¬ 
linville, New York, U. S. A. 



20 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 




32! 




SS2C 




N 


Ancona Mating 


By Frank C. Sticr 


The first essential in mating to pro¬ 
duce beautiful specimens is to have as 
your guide one of the latest Standards 
of Perfection. If you do not have one 
and you wish to succeed, my sugges¬ 
tion is, purchase one at once; they are 
advertised in this edition of “History 
of Anconas.” 

In the mating together of breeders to 
secure good results, there are several 
essentials to consider. First, and the 
most important, is to mate to produce 
birds of Standard shape. In accom¬ 
plishing this point you not only meet 
the Exhibitors’ but also the egg pro¬ 
ducing requirements, for it is impos¬ 
sible for a bird to be a high class ex¬ 
hibition specimen unless it has the 
proper body for egg production. It is 
generally felt that once you get the 
proper shape bred into your flock, the 
balance of points are much easier to 
secure. My experience in exhibiting 
has been that a Judge pays little or no 
attention to a bird of poor type, regard¬ 
less of other qualities. 

After carefully studying the illustra¬ 
tions as shown in the new Standard, 
select the number of females you want 
to breed from that approach the proper 
type, it being generally conceded that 
in order to produce correct type you 
must be particularly strong in your 
female line; therefore, aim to use in 
your breeding pens only those that ap¬ 
proach the proper ideal, even if you 
c nly have a few, for past experience has 
shown that it is a difficult proposition 
to secure proper type males from poor 
type females. 

In selecting your male, it is, of 
course, advisable to pick the best type 


bird you can according to the new 
Standard, but I prefer to sacrifice, if 
necessary, some in type to have him 
strong in other sections, such as color, 
head points, legs and lobes; in other 
words, get your type from the female 
side. 

The next important point is color. In 
making your selection, watch your un¬ 
der-color very carefully, particularly on 
account of the new Standard require¬ 
ments. In securing the additional mot¬ 
tling one is very apt to run some to 
white. This is a common fault and 
easy to get into, but will surely cause 
trouble in your breeding. Stick to your 
dark under-color even if at times you 
have to sacrifice a good specimen. If 
one has to use a bird with light under¬ 
color, let it be on the male side. It is 
hardly necessary to say that all lacing 
around edges of white tips should be 
avoided; also that the ones with the 
smallest tips are the most desirable. 
By careful selection each year, this 
point can be brought to a good state 
of perfection. The whiter and smaller 
the tips, the better. Best results in 
nice mottling are usually secured from 
the male side. In wing color, we all 
like them solid with many tips. There 
is no question in my mind but what 
the beautiful tipped males and females 
are secured from a male with a nicely 
tipped breast, the smaller the tipping 
the better. At that, I have secured the 
best results from females with solid 
wings, mated to males with some white 
flights. In this there is a great deal in 
knowing one’s breeding stock. 

My experience has been that there is 
a. limit that can be reached in every 







HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


21 


point we breed for. Once that limit is 
over-reached, calamity is at hand. The 
real art of breeding is in holding to 
certain qualities, while you improve 
others, with the thought uppermost in 
your mind that it is not the perfect 
bird in one point that you are after, 
but rather, the well balanced one in all 
sections. There is one section in color 
to watch carefully and that is the tail. 
Try and have them all black—not 
splashed. This is a bad fault. Some¬ 
times main sides, when fully out, show 
some white at base, which is not over- 
serious and can be overcome in mating, 
but a splashy main tail feather should 
be avoided. 

Regarding leg color, I have always 
preferred them mottled; in fact, I be¬ 
lieve they make a more handsome 
bird. However, the Standard allows 
them to be either yellow, or yellow 
mottled with black. My experience 
has proven that good mottled leg fe¬ 
males can be produced from a mating 
of a clear yellow leg male bird with 
mottled leg females. This mating 
should produce an equal number of 
yellow, and yellow mottled with black. 
In order to produce all mottled leg 
specimens, it is necessary to have the 
mating consist of both mottled leg male 
and females. 

As far as the head points are con¬ 
cerned, we all know that the five equal 
serated points are desired in both male 
and females, and this should be held to 
as close as possible. A white lobe is 
asked for. In breeding for this, care 

should be taken not to run too strong 
on this particular point, for the reason 
that it may lead to white in the face, 
which is a disqualification in young 
birds. 

Summing up the entire proposition of 
mating Single Comb Anconas, it seems 
to me that if you carefully study the 
Standard of Perfection you cannot help 
but succeed. Furthermore, the Stan¬ 
dard bird as now given us makes one 
of the most handsome fowls in exist¬ 
ence today. 


ANCONA MATING 


(By Leo M. French) 

Here at Ancona Park, twenty females 
are used in a utility pen. Have had as 
many as thirty-one females in a pen, 
but that is very unusual. 

In mating exhibition pens one will 
be fortunate to find ten females out of 
several hundred that will be correct 
mates for a certain male. This season 
we have six exhibition pens mated, con¬ 
taining six, ten, eleven, five, six, and 
four females, respectively. If one used 
trap nests it would be alright to build 
these pens up to twenty, but it doesn’t 
appeal to me as a selling proposition, 
to select the correct matings and then 
throw in ten more just to get a lot of 
eggs or chicks to sell. Breed quality 
rather than quantity. 

If a breeder has two males alike ex¬ 
cept as to mottling,—one with one 
feather in five white-tipped, and the 
other four feathers in five white-tipped, 
use the latter bird. It is a slow way 
to arrive, to breed for white tips where 
there aren’t any. 

Size comes from well developed fe¬ 
males. I have bred a four-pound male 
to 4 l / 2 and 5-pound females and pro¬ 
duced six-pound cockerels. 

Correct the fault in male or female 
by using mates that are perfect, or 
more nearly perfect, in those faulty 
points. If I have a male that has too 
much slope to back, I mate females 
that are high and wide at cushion. 

I believe feed and care has a lot to 
do with size. Oats in any form are a 
frame builder. You get the size and 
you have the weight. A pullet must be 
well developed, and yearling or older 
birds should be helped through the 
moult with feather feeds. It is some 
trouble, but it pays, whether the birds 
are for breeders or layers. The secret 
of good fertility (if there is a secret) is 
proper care and feed of the stock at 





22 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


all times. Good fertility cannot be had 
if birds are neglected until just before 
breeding season; it is usually too late 
then to get them into good form. Be¬ 
gin to get your birds into trim for next 
year as soon as you are through breed¬ 
ing this year. 


ANCONA MATING 

(By H. Ranee, England) 

I was a small back-lot breeder, only 
having a garden, until I had won near¬ 
ly three hundred prizes. I am sure a 
hack-yarder has quite as good or bet¬ 
ter chance than larger breeders for 
keeping exhibition birds in order. 

I always like to breed from hens two 
years old, but they must have been 
good as pullets. I am sure of this,— 
a hen or cock that is good in the first 
year, and molts well, contains the stuff 
that produces the best generation after 
generation, and if you have this quality 
don’t lose it, but be sure to make the 
best of it. 

First see that the hens are good 
shape, because shape is all important. 
Next see that she is endowed with the 
proper tipping,— clear white as pos¬ 
sible and as even as you can get it. 
Evenness and clearness should be se¬ 
lected in preference to size of tipping. 
If hens have a little extra white in tail 
or flights this need not worry you, pro¬ 
viding they were good as pullets, and 
the white is clear. If flight or tail 
feathers are grisley the birds are cer¬ 
tain to breed a lot of bad ones, and 
if this defect occurrs in any quantity, 
however good the bird is in other 
respects, I would never breed from it. 
Leg color must be good, yellow mot¬ 
tled with black. 

The under color of the entire pen 
must be sound, and dark as possible. 
This is of great importance. We real¬ 
ly don’t want birds tipped at both ends 
of the feathers. 


ANCONA BOOSTER FUND 

The expense of conducting Club af¬ 
fairs does not leave any considerable 
amount of Club funds to be expended 
for new channels of Ancona Boosting, 
therefore a Booster Fund has been 
established, and all interested breeders 
are asked to contribute to this fund 
any amount they will from one dollar 
up. Send your contribution to Club 
Secretary, Roy W. Van Hoesen, Frank- 
linville, New York. 

Whenever there is money available 
in this Booster Fund, Ancona Booster 
Advertising is carried in different pub¬ 
lications, and various opportunities for 
promoting the interests of all Ancona 
breeders a^r made available. S ~c ■ 
Boosting is not confined to any section 
of the country, but is scattered so that 
all Ancona breeders wherever tie ' 
may b~ ioc°t e d b° lmn Q ftted 7 

is to the mutual advantage of all An¬ 
cona breeders and fanciers to support 
this Booster Fund, and thus have a 
continuous campaign of Ancona Boost¬ 
ing in progress. 



THE BREED SUPREME 

Hardy • Beautiful • Popular 

P RODUCE eggs at least cost per 
dozen. Lay more eggs—consume 
less feed than any other breed. 
Excel as winter layers. 

Lay very large white eggs. 

The greatest profit in Poultry is now 
being made from Anconas. 

Write for Booklet 

UNITED ANCONA CLUB 

FRANKL1NVILLE, N. Y., U.S.A. 

Membership, $2.00 per year, includes Year 
Book (50c) and Ancona World magazine (50c) 





















HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


23 


■ ^ - p=> --^ - t^- 

Ancona Leaders 

> 

1*1 ^ z=3^gj ggagg ^ ^ 

The Ancona breeders who attempt to breed their fowls to the Standard, who 
exhibit at the poultry shows, who support their Specialty Clubs, who advertise 
their business, who use printed Ancona stationery, who circulate Boosting 
literature, who contribute to the Booster Fund, who write articles about Anconas 
for the public press, who send Anconas to Egg-Laying Contests, and in various 
other ways support and promote the Ancona cause, are the men and women 
who deserve the commendation of all who are interested in Anconas. 

It gives the author of this book much pleasure to herewith present the 
pictures of many men and women who lead in Ancona affairs, and to thus 
express appreciation of the excellent work they have done and are doing for 
the cause of Anconas: 


^22® 

\ 

> 





Frank C. Stier 
Lakewood, O. 


N. H. Gampp 
New Hamburg, Ontario 


Leo M. French 
Framingham, Mass. 



Roy W. Van Hoesen 
Franklinville, N. Y. 



A. W. Becker 
Dallas, Tex. 



H. Cecil Sheppard 
Berea, O. 


















24 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


T. H. Holmes 
Arcadia, Calif. 



N. J. Lannan 
Elsmere, Del. 


R. R. Beams 
Lincoln, Nebr. 





Worth M. Lewallen 
High Point, N. C. 



Gilbert A. Bell 
Carnegie, Pa. 



E. R. Post 
Ontarioville, III. 





Mrs. Jas. Clevenger 
Rocky Ford, Colo. 


Mrs. J. B. Owens 
Weaubleau, Mo. 


Leonard Cooper 
Calgary, Alberta 
















HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


25 



W. H. Northup 
Bangor, Maine 


Henry Scheyer 
Silver Creek, N. V. 


Gilbert E. Nichols 
Morristown, N. J. 





F. M. Frost 
San Gabriel, Calif. 


Ward Bowen 
Union Star, Mo. 


Landon C. Moore 
Dallas, Tex. 





D. F. Herman 
Vinton, Va. 


E. D. Broadt 
Hellam, Pa. 


Leroy L. Lambert 
Apponaug, R. I. 


























26 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 



Mrs. L. W. Gilbert 
Tipton, Mo. 


Mrs. Robert Elliott 
Vital, Manitoba 


Mrs. Robt. H. Wood 
Little Falls, N. Y. 





Ray Hook 
Westminster, Md. 



W. S. McKnight 
Clayton, Ala. 


Geo. P. Grube 
Springfield, O. 





Emil J. Kremer 
Dyersville, Iowa 


G. L. Ratz 
Tavistock, Ontario 


























HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


27 


1*1 '"^ , [*1 

8 ft 

Ancona Development 

J 1 [ 

'<*' *>* "■ -- - -^ * 

By E. R. Post 


From my experience in breeding, and 
from fa.cts observed not only on ex¬ 
amining my Official Ancona winners, 
but many other Official egg winners, 
in Coliseum bred-to-lay classes as well 
as others, broad feathers point to vigor 
and size. Another startling fact is 



Ancona Baby Chicks, ttuo days old 

that the Mediterraneans are in a bad 
way. The fancier is bent on the fancy 
end, and the utility man on the other 
extreme. One is all for feathers and 
blue ribbons, and the other for eggs. 
The first man lets slide the big oppor¬ 
tunity to develop a uniform fowl, full 
in flesh and weighing right up to stan¬ 
dard. If all Mediterraneans went on 
the market weighing 4 y 2 to 5 pounds 
at maturity they would be a choice 
c->Yn owl. It is much more practical 
to grow a uniform fleshed stock, and 
in the end much more profitable. Broil¬ 
ers should be full fleshed. I have seen 
hundreds of Ancona males as plump as 
quail and have proven as fine eating 
as any other broiler. By breeding size 
and keeping the flesh on our Mediter¬ 
ranean fowls, we can take away all 
restrictions on them as broilers or 
table fowl. 

What I like to see is sturdiness in 
young chickens. In breeding Anconas 


this sturdiness is our first considera¬ 
tion, for I find that Anconas must be 
big birds with substantial bodies for 
high egg production. Strong Ancona 
chicks must begin with strong Ancona 
parent stock. Breeders must have 
vigor to produce the vigorous chicks. 
Vigor is one of the most important 
characteristics of the proper breeding 
bird. Vigor in Anconas means less 
trouble, fewer losses, and stronger 
chicks, that will have a sturdier growth 
and ultimately heavier production un¬ 
der all conditions. 

Another important point in the 
breeder is size. Size means capacity 
and economical production, strong 
chicks that will live and the ability to 
turn feed into eggs, and more meat 
value when at the end of their egg pro¬ 
ducing days. 

After vigor and size, the next point 
to consider is the head. The female 
head should be short, and denoting 
vigor and activity. The males must 
be short and broad with an active eye, 



Ancona Chicks seven days old 


and face free from feathers. There 
should be a refinement of head points. 
I do not believe in top-heavy combs or 
wattles as seen in many English Leg- 























28 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


horns. The new standard allows for 
plenty of comb and wattles, sufficient 
to give this refinement and also egg 
production. I want to see a good de¬ 
velopment of comb in my youngsters, 
of velvety texture, well set and firm, 
keeping pace with all other body 
growth. Uniform growth means early 
maturity, and early, sound maturity 
means early profitable egg production. 

Ancona Type. The new Standard of 
Perfection represents a better utility 
type than the Leghorn female. The 
Ancona has a somewhat more angular 
line with fuller abdomen. Selecting 
along this line raises the quality of 
Ancona breeders, both in beauty and 
egg production. 

Ancona Color and Feathers. I have 
been convinced that the exact type of 
feather for breeding stock correllated 
Y7 '1 1 early matur ty. c : -e. st'm in and 
productiveness in the female, is not 
the narrow feather, but the well finish¬ 
ed feather with clean markings and 



Ancona Chicks eighteen days old 

plenty of width is what is most desired 
for best results. I have failed to find 
a single exception where the feathers 
narrow down to a fine point in order 
to make the small neat tip of white, 
hut that the birds matured more slow¬ 
ly, and consequently do not produce as 
1 rofitably as those of the broader 


feathers. Examination of Official con¬ 
test winners in all breeds shows the 
high egg producers having the broad 
feathers. So a selection should be 
made along more useful lines. For the 



Ancona Chicks tiuenty-five days old 

Useful Ancona is going to be the bird 
in demand more and more each year. 

After selecting for vigor, size, re¬ 
finement and head points, type, color 
and markings, comes the all important 
ones, that of size and quality of eggs. 
This becomes quite easy as the size 
and egg type called for in the new Stan¬ 
dard allows for a large roomy egg 
capacity. All breeding stock should 
lay uniform eggs, weighing 24 oz. or 
more to the dozen. And in Anconas 
the pure white egg should be chosen, 
as they are more attractive and com¬ 
mand a higher commercial value. 

Taken as a whole the new 1923 Sian- 
dard for Anconas is a work well done 
and will put Anconas in a more promi¬ 
nent position in the poultry world than 
heretofore. It excels for allowance for 
useful poultry, and while I readily a- 
gree that a feather narrowing to a fine 
point looks prettier than a broad one, 
it is better to have the broader ones 
when they mean early maturity. For 
vigor, size, and type will outweigh the 
result gained in breeding for the nar¬ 
row feathers. 

The proper selection of breeders is 
the first step in producing what I like 
to see in my youngsters. I now have 













HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


20 


on the range 4 ; 000 choice sturdy chicks, 
all hatched from white eggs weighing 
26 oz. per dozen, and from dams used 
for breeders from known high egg pro¬ 
ducers. I feed my stock and water 
them 4 times a day, 5 a. m., 10 a. m., 

2 p. m., and 5 p. m. My chicks are 
started out in life in a 30x30 nursery. 
At two weeks they are put into a port¬ 
able colony house 10x12 of the Quissen- 
berry type, which are hauled to new 
ground along alfalfa, grain or corn 
fields. Along our fences we sow sweet 
clover, which is additional shade. An¬ 
cona chicks that are to become splen¬ 
did individuals of the highest standard 
quality must be in good flesh at all 
times. 

Exercise, sufficient to create an ap¬ 
petite, rations not containing too much 
fiber or ash, balanced to give uniform 
growth, is the secret of successful 
poultry raising. In keeping your stock 
in good flesh all the time means less 
loss; and your broilers will go on the 
market in much better condition. If 
every Mediterranean breeder would 
grow his stock along these lines we 
would soon have the market demand¬ 
ing cur broilers. It is a costly mistake 
to overdevelop in bone, making them 
rangcy, awkward birds when broiler 
time comes. They are then cast on 
the market in an unfit condition and 
many times rejected. Make it a point 
to develop flesh with the bone and you 
will have greater egg production. If 
properly fed the birds need not be 
separated until 8 weeks old, when the 
males should weigh from 1 to 1 V 2 
pounds. They are then usually develop¬ 
ed enough so that you can retain those 
that are to be your future breeders. 
All off-colored, weak in headpoints, or 
overdeveloped rough combs should he 
marketed. 


I believe in an abundance of range, 
alfalfa and kale; these two green feeds 
are full of qualities that go toward 
making for growth. While chicks are 
growing one-fourth of their diet is 
green feed, and at maturity I increase 
it to one-third. It is an economical 
feed, also, when you consider its food 
value. From experience and observa¬ 
tion of other breeders, I am inclined 
to think that the majority of poultry- 
men do not feed enough of it. The 
change from the range to the perma¬ 
nent quarters must be so arranged that 
no curtailment of this food takes place. 



Ancona Chichs tvuelve meeks old 

Serious trouble can be traced to the 
lack of it. Be sure to have plenty of 
it during the hot months, when the 
range becomes dry in some parts of 
the country. For the future advance¬ 
ment of Anconas, breed them up to the 
Standard in weight. Eliminate all 2 or 3 
pound females as breeders. Select 
them for the points given in the fore¬ 
going. The Standard weights given 
are: Cock. 5% lbs.; Cockerel, 4V 2 lbs.; 
Hen, 4V 2 lbs.; Pullet, 3% lbs.; Better 
a half pound over weight instead of un¬ 
der weight. Profitable poultry is what 
is wanted, and one of the brightest of all 
poultry futures lies in the hands of the 
breeders of Anconas, who are breed¬ 
ing useful and practical Anconas. 









so 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 



First Cockerel, Chicago Coliseum 


Post’s Super Anconas are the leaders in type at 
I America’s leading shows; and at Official Egg Contests in 
| egg production; and official standard scoring. 

“SUPER” ANCONAS MAKE MOST PROFIT 

Customers winning at America’s greatest shows and 
j leading egg contests. Why? They are bred to full stan- 
j dard weight, excell in long broad backs and large egg 
j deposits, refined heads and texture of combs possessing 
J generations of Official Contest winners. Blood lines care¬ 
fully and systematically bred in line for beautiful and 
{ useful Anconas. 

Secure Your Winners and Breeders Here. Show birds 
for any show. Egg Winners for any contest. 

SELECT BREEDERS FOR FOUNDATION FLOCKS. Chicks and 
| eggs in season. Special summer prices on Breeders and 8 to 16 weeks 
j old pullets and cockerels. Send for free catalog. 

| Sweet Briar Farm 

E. R. Post. Proprietor 

Ontarioville, Ill. 


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Box 6 








HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


Q 

O 


1 


[* ic 5C 


- - .. 




Anconas on Commercial Plants 


I X-2^ 




Anconas are rapidly becoming a 
popular breed for commercial egg 
farming, because the facts are becom¬ 
ing so well known that there is more 
profit in Anconas than in any other 
breed. Anconas are also less sus¬ 
ceptible to disease; are less conspicu¬ 
ous on the range than other fowls, so 
are not so much the prey of hawks, 
foxes and rodents; pullets begin laying 
weeks ahead of any other breed; and 
the breed is better advertised, the 
clubs more active, the class better fill¬ 
ed at the shows—all of which means a 
bigger demand for eggs, stock, and 
chicks. 

The name and address of a few of 
the large Ancona Commercial Plants 
are here given. Scores of others are 
being added every season. 


One of the best known and most 
successful Ancona plants in the United 
States is “Lingerlonger Farm,” Weau- 
bleau, Mo., operated by Mr. and Mrs. 
J. B. Ownes, who devote all their time 
and their entire 40 acres, to Anconas. 
Their energies are directed to show 
and breeding birds, and they trap nest 
all their breeders. They hatched 5,000 
baby chicks in 1922, and kept over a 
third of them. Their farm is well 
equipped with laying, brooding, and 
colony houses. Their incubator capac¬ 
ity is 2,400 eggs. Lingerlonger An¬ 
conas are making very good records in 
laying contests and the big poulti y 
shows. 

The most intensive Ancona business 
in Canada is Riverdale Poultry Farm. 
N. H. Gampp, proprietor, New Ham¬ 


burg, Ontario. This fifteen-acre poul¬ 
try plant is devoted exclusively to An¬ 
conas. There is a hatching capacity 
of 4000 eggs and a 2640 egg Buckeye 
Mammoth Incubator No. 6 has just 
been installed to take care of their 
increasing business. They have six 
coal burning brooder stoves with ca¬ 
pacity for 3,000 chicks. Last year 800 
layers were kept and new buildings 
have just been finished to keep 1500 
this year. The old house is 16x100 
feet, and the new one is 16x120 feet 
with center part two stories high, the 
ground floor for feed, and the second 
story for storage and conditioning. Mr. 
Gampp has bred Anconas for a dozen 
years, and after experimenting with 
several other breeds he discarded all 
but Anconas, as they proved very much 
more profitable and satisfactory in 
every way for a commercial egg plant. 
These Riverdale Anconas have made 
wonderful records in the several Can¬ 
adian Egg-Laying Contests. 


C. W. Norton’s Big Four Ranch at 
Pomona, California, is fitted up to 
carry 3000 head of grown stock. Brood¬ 
er house has a capacity of 3000, and 
the hatching capacity is 30,000 eggs 
every three weeks. All breeding males 
are from better than 200-egg hens. Mr. 
Norton writes: “I have had Anconas 
for ten years, and find that I can pro¬ 
duce a dozen eggs much cheaper with 
the Anconas than any other breed 1 
ever carried, and I have had more than 
16 different breeds.” 


One of the big Ancona plants in this 
country is the Dallas Poultry Faim, 


















32 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


just outside the city of Dallas, Texas. 
There are 32 acres devoted to poultry, 
among which Anconas are leaders. A 
fortune has already been spent in 
equipment, and the initial capacity was 
15,000 layers; 12,000 brooding; 7,000 
incubating. Many additions have since 
been made. Several breeds that were 
kept at the beginning have been dis¬ 
carded for the more profitable Ancon¬ 
as, and the goal is 10,000 laying An¬ 
conas. Several times Anconas from 
this farm have won prizes at egg-lay¬ 
ing contests. All of their 1922 pullets 
will be trap-nested, and only high pro¬ 
ducers be used in the breeding pens. 


H. Cecil Sheppard, Berea, Ohio, has 
the largest poultry breeding plant in 
the world, and it is devoted exclusively 
to Anconas. He started on a town lot 
seventeen years ago, with thirty-one 
birds. In 1922 he raised 18,000 An¬ 
conas, two-thirds of which he kept for 
breeders. He is using over a thous¬ 
and acres in his Ancona operations, 
and his Ancona business exceeds $100,- 
000 annually. Mr. Sheppard says that 
while a few years ago most of his 
orders were from small breeders and 
back-lotters, of late he has been sup¬ 
plying some of the largest commercial 
egg farms with Anconas. 


F. M. Frost, Route 1, Box 149, San 
Gabriel, California, has nearly one 
thousand Anconas on his “Rose Lawn 
Ancona Ranch’’ and will double his 
capacity during 1923. He has some 
fine show stock, but keeps Anconas 
because they produce more eggs, larg¬ 
er eggs, and produce them at less cost 
per dozen than any other fowl. 


Ward Bowen, proprietor of “Shady 
Brook Farm,” Union Star, Missouri, 
has four laying houses with capacity 
for over 1500 layers. Fourteen colony 


houses with capacity for 5000 chicks. 
Incubator capacity 3200. Approximate¬ 
ly 11,000 chicks were hatched in 1922. 
After the hatching season is closed 
eggs are shipped to New York, Chica¬ 
go, and Kansas City, or sometimes to 
the local Farmers’ Union. Trap nests 
are used, and 1500 pedigree chicks are 
hatched each season. Mr. Bowen’s An¬ 
conas have many show and laying con¬ 
test prizes to their credit. He contem¬ 
plates increasing his incubator capac¬ 
ity to keep pace with the increasing 
demand for baby Ancona chicks in 
large lots to commercial egg farms. 

College View Farm, Hillsdale, Mich., 
is an exclusive Single Comb Ancona 
enterprise owned and operated by G. 
A. Zilch. There are over 25 acres of 
land, and the 600 laying Anconas will 
be doubled this season. Several new 
buildings have recently been added. 
1922 incubator capacity has been in¬ 
creased by recent addition of a 3600 
egg Candee. There are three separate 
colony brooder houses. A specialty is 
made of selling hatching eggs and 
baby chicks, and particular stress is 
made of chalk-white eggs. 


Merryall Poultry Farm, Route 3, 
South Kent, Conn., last year began on 
a commercial egg basis. After keeping 
accurate records they found that their 
Anconas averaged more eggs per bird 
for the year than their other breeds, 
so they will hereafter specialize on An¬ 
conas. This year they are adding in¬ 
cubator capacity and additional brood¬ 
er houses. A large part of their eggs 
and broilers go to private customers, 
and nearby summer camps. 


W. H. Handorf, Route 2, Milwaukee, 
Wis., specializes on Single Comb An¬ 
conas, because they make him a larg¬ 
er net profit than other breeds. He 







HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


33 


sells eggs to private customers, and 
to stores in paper cartons at a prem¬ 
ium, furnishing only the high-class 
trade. He hatches a thousand and a 
half chicks, and is continually extend¬ 
ing his business. 

T. H. Holmes, Route 1, Box 371B, 
Arcadia, California, has a 2500 hen 
ranch devoted to Anconas and Leg¬ 
horns. He has had wide experience 
in poultry culture, and keeps careful 
account of every detail. In a com¬ 
parative test of 75 each Anconas and 
Leghorns, which were hatched and 
brooded together, and at all times given 
exactly the same conditions and care, 
during August the Anconas laid 1096 
eggs, and the Leghorns 922. Then 25 
birds were taken from each flock, and 
in September the Anconas beat the 
Leghorns 96 eggs. In October the An¬ 
conas beat the Leghorns 88 eggs, and 
so on month after month. The Ancona 
eggs also weighed more per dozen than 
the Leghorn eggs. 

Mr. Holmes writes: “I also found 
that the Anconas consumed from 8% 
to 10% less feed than the Leghorns. 
The Anconas were much less inclin¬ 
ed to become broody, or go into the 
fall molt (quite prevalent in Southern 
California.) 

“One of my customers has a flock 
of Ancona pullets which showed no 
signs of molt, while his Leghorn pul¬ 
lets molted so completely they stop¬ 
ped laying entirely. His Ancona pul¬ 
lets showed no sign of chicken pox, 
while the disease knocked out his Leg¬ 
horn pullets. 

“1 am convinced that Anconas are 
the most profitable for a commercial 
ranch.” 


J. A. Baker, proprietor of Baker’s 
Ancona Farm, Route 3, Elyria, Ohio, 
is in the Ancona business on a large 
scale. Previous to 1910 he had not 
seen an Ancona. From two settings 
of Ancona eggs he raised to maturity 
eleven pullets. He had no idea then 
of ever going into the poultry business. 
He kept an exact account of his little 
flock, and they paid such a wonderful 
profit he got the chicken fever, and 
has every year extended his business 
until now he has under his control on 
his home and branch plants, eleven 
hundred breeders. His central plant 
has brooding capacity of one thousand 
chicks, and ten thousand hatching ca¬ 
pacity every 21 days; also 4,800 hatch¬ 
ing capacity at one branch. His ship¬ 
ping house is 20x24, two stories, which 
will be enlarged 300 per cent this sea¬ 
son. He had three orders for baby 
chicks last spring totaling 10,000; two 
were repeat orders, so Anconas made 
good with other breeds they kept. 


Melville Farm, Route 3, Riverside, 
Cal., Clifford M. Walker, proprietor, 
raises Single Comb Anconas on a com¬ 
mercial scale. They have been estab¬ 
lished seven years, and have no other 
business. They carry over a thousand 
head, and are gradually increasing 
each year. Chicks are hatched and 
brooded by electricity. Five acres of 
green alfalfa are constanly available, 
as crops are rotated with that in view. 
A few acres of bearing walnut orchard 
provides abundant shade. The pro¬ 
duct of three cows is fed to the An¬ 
conas. The exhibition end is not over¬ 
looked, and many a bird on this farm 
has won the blue ribbon. 




HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


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Lingerlonger Anconas, are being bred for vigor, quality and eggs. 

We have the finest lot of high quality young stock that we have ever 
had. They are showing fine type, with good, long bodies which are 
full and deep. The average color is excellent, with many exceptional 
ones. We grow them on free range scattered in colony houses along 
the edge of corn fields. They are bubbling over with vigor. 



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Lingerlonger Anconas have made some fine show records, having 
won Beit Display the last two years at. the Heart of America, K. C., 
as well as many firsts at our State Show, State Fairs, etc. They have 
also made high egg records at the National Egg-laying Contest for 
the past 4 or 5 years, having made at one time the record of 216.4 
eggs average for the pen. Lingerlonger Anconas will enter other 
Contests this season. 

We trapnest our birds the year round. We know them and what 
they can do. Let us send you some dandy show birds or high layers. 
All Lingerlonger chicks are pedigreed. 

STOCK, EGGS AND CHICKS FOR SALE. 

FREE CATALOG 

LINGERLONGER FARM 

Mr. and Mrs. J. B. OWENS, Box A. H. Weaubleau, Mo. 



































HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


35 


^ ~ " - ^ . 1 =^ -z &\- 


Anconas for the Table 

^ ^-c^- >^py ^ 


By Chas. A. Newton 


Like many Ancona breeders, I have 
tried many different breeds of poultry 
and have had good results from them, 
but the Anconas have gained my at¬ 
tention with their good qualities until 
I cannot see anything else if there is 
an Ancona about. I have not discard¬ 
ed all other kinds, for I still breed two 
other lines which nick in well with the 
Ancona. But I feel that Anconas stand 
at the front with me, not because I 
chose them, but because I couldn’t help 
it. Is there anything finer to look at 
than a fine pen of Anconas at about 
ten weeks old? See their bright eyes 
well set in a finely shaped head; ale A 
and graceful in carriage; their fine, 
plump breast, long bodies and all fin¬ 
ished off with a pert little tail. 

I have read a great deal of Ancona 
literature and I find there are many 
others besides myself who have dis¬ 
covered the superior qualities develop¬ 
ed in a flock of Anconas, but writers, 
so far as I have seen, bear down strong 
on their heavy laying, winter laying 
and their small appetites, which is all 
true enough. There is, however, an¬ 
other strong point in their favor which 
I think should be made more promi¬ 
nent in discussing the qualities of the 
Ancona breed, and that is the excellent 
appearance of the carcass when diess- 
ed for the table. There seems to be 
such an ever-increasing demand for 
the birds as breeders that it is possible 
our correspondents have never been 
so foolish as I have and killed any of 
their cockerels and so don’t know 
their birds to full capacity. 

I killed and dressed quite a number 
last fall at from three to four pounds, 


and, in my opinion, they cannot be 
beaten for fryers, looking at it from 
the consumer’s standpoint. I believe 
there is as much to eat on an Ancona 
at one and one-half pounds as there 
is on the meat breeds at two pounds. 
The Ancona has small head, shanks 
and bones and thick meat on breast 
and thighs. 

If I was steward of a large club or 
hotel where the best in everything to 
eat was appreciated, I would hunt out 
some fellow that would furnish me 
with Ancona broilers and fryers if I 
could find h m, and even if it cost a 
bit more it would be well worth while, 
for that institution would soon have 
something that was talked about. 

To the rancher and back-yard poul¬ 
try keeper who likes to raise a few 
chickens each year so that he may 
have a nice little fryer once n a wlrie, 
the Ancona would surely appeal if he 
were once shown its good qualities. 
They favor the game bird more than 
any of the other act we breeds do, and, 
as I have said before, their breasts 
and thighs have the meat on them. 
The fowls, both male and female, are 
naturally plump, and if well cared for 
will always dress off well for the table. 

I don’t pretend to say they are an 
all-purpose fowl, for they are first, last 
and all the time a high class egg ma¬ 
chine; but when you come to dress 
them for market you have got no ex¬ 
cuses to make. The color is good, the 
meat is there and in the right place. 
All we have to admit is that there is 
not much head and shanks to pull the 
scales down. 











HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


::r, 


^.-- - 


An con a O rcjan izaii on s 

1*1 ^ 1 - 


Were it not for organization all the 
Ancona boosting that would be done 
in the world would be through the ad¬ 
vertisements and catalogues of breed¬ 
ers. It takes little imagination to pic¬ 
ture how flat Ancona business would be 
and how little progress the breed 
would make, if such a condition pre¬ 
vailed. It would mean no ribbons, no 
medals, no meetings, no boosting liter¬ 
ature, no fellowship, no promoting, no 
data preserved, no progressive Stan¬ 
dard maintained, no breed advertising, 
no errors corrected, no exhibitions nor 
laying contests encouraged, no place to 
go for Ancona helps and information, 
nothing but chaos so far as Ancona 
affairs are concerned. 

Membership in the Club marks the 
breeder as progressive and having a 
wider vision than that bounded by his 
own back lot. The very act of co¬ 
operating with others for the advance¬ 
ment of the Ancona cause is worth the 
cost to every Ancona breeder. But the 
material gain to breeders who belong 
to the Club is worth while, as every 
member receives The Ancona World 
free, has their name and address listed 
in the Annual Year Book and gets a 
copy of the book, and receives Club 
Ribbons and Medals for winning on 
Anconas at the shows, and the cost is 
but $2 per year. 

A person in buying stock and eggs 
from Ancona breeders should see if 
they are listed as members of the Club, 
as it is safer and more satisfactory to 
deal with people who are progressive, 
and imbued with the spirit of co-opera¬ 
tion and are fair enough to support a 
Club that does so much for their busi¬ 
ness. 


The present position of Anconas in 
the front ranks of poultrydom is due 
to the activities of the United Ancona 
Club. The Club members are scatter¬ 
ed through all the States of America, 
and Provinces of Canada, as well as 
many foreign countries. They are the 
cream of the Ancona fraternity; they 
are the breeders who are doing things, 
and can be relied upon. 

The purpose of the Club is to do 
everything it can for the good of our 
mutual cause, and such is the purpose 
of those breeders who join in main¬ 
taining the Club. 

No breed of poultry ever gained 
prominence without the activities of a 
Specialty Club composed of the breed¬ 
ers interested. Therefore the Ancona 
breeders are united in this Club to pro¬ 
mote their mutual interests, by encour¬ 
aging larger Ancona classes at all 
poultry shows, awarding Club Ribbons 
and medals, getting Ancona entries in 
Egg Laying Contests, assisting in or¬ 
ganizing and maintaining State Ancona 
Clubs, creating and distributing An¬ 
cona literature, maintaining a proper 
Standard, promoting fellowship among 
Ancona breeders, and making the 
breeding, raising and selling of Ancona 
stock, eggs and chicks more profitable. 

The cost is only $2.00 per year, and 
includes a free subscription to The An¬ 
cona World magazine, which has been 
published continuously for over a doz¬ 
en years; regular subscription price 50 
cents. Every Club member has name 
and address published in the Year 
Bock, and recives a copy of the book: 
the book sells for 50 cents. Club mem¬ 
bers receive a Club Ribbon for every 
















HISTORY OF 

first prize won on Anconas at any 
poultry show; also Club medals for 
best color and shape Anconas at shows 
where there are over 25 Ancona en¬ 
tries. 

All Ancona breeders of good repute 
are urged to join the Club, and co¬ 
operate in the work of boosting An¬ 
conas. There is not an Ancona breed¬ 
er who cares to sell any Ancona pro¬ 
duct that can afford NOT to belong to 
the Club. The $2 per year fee is the 
biggest little investment an Ancona 
breeder can make. 


OFFICERS FOR 1923 


President 

Will P. Hunter, Johnson City, Tenn. 

First Vice President 

Leo M. French. 81 Arlington, St., 
Framingham, Mass. 

Second Vice President 

T. H. Holmes, Route 1, Box 179, Ar¬ 
cadia, Calif. 

Secretary 

Rov W. Van Hoesen, Franklinville, 
N. Y. 

T reasurer 

Frank C. Stier, 1107 Nicholson Ave.. 
Lakewood, O. 

Executive Board 

Mrs. J. B. Owens, Chairman, Weau- 
bleau, Mo.; E. R. Post, Ontarioville, 
Ill.; A. W. Becker, Box 1176, Dallas, 
Texas; G. E. Gill, Route 1, Box 60, 
Louisville, Ky.; N. J. Lannan, Box 85, 
Elsmere, Del. 

Election Commissioner 

Mrs. L. W. Gilbert, Tipton, Mo. 


ANCONAS 37 

State Vice Presidents for 1923 

Alabama—W. S. McKnight, Clayton. 

Arizona—Roy H. Rogers, Box 813, War¬ 
ren. 

Arkansas—Sigel Taylor, Route 3, Little 
Rock. 

California—Clifford M. Walker, Route 
3, Riverside. 

Colorado—Mrs. Jas. Clevenger, Rocky 
Ford. 

Connecticut—W. L. Bridgeford, Route 
3, South Kent. 

Delaware—N. J. Lannan, Box 85, Els¬ 
mere. 

Florida—J. T. Knott, 34 Atlantic Blvd., 
South Jacksonville. 

Georgia—Henry J. Cates, 416 Green¬ 
wood Ave., Atlanta. 

Hawaii—George Melancon, Box 54. 
Paia, Maui. 

Idaho—Geo. W. Fonner, R. D. 3, Weiser 

Illinois—V. H. Marcellus, Belvidere. 

Indiana—W. Guy Pickens, Route 4, 
Cloverdale. 

Iowa—Emil J. Kremer, Box 44, Dyers- 
ville. 

Kansas—C. J. Page, Salina. 

Kentucky—H. C. Haggard, Route 4. 
Georgetown. 

Louisiana—W. F. Cartens, 615 Center 
Ave., New Iberia. 

Maine—S. R. Thompson, South Port¬ 
land. 

Maryland—Charles B. Pierce, Box 33, 
Halethorp. 

Massachusetts — Ernest W. Dexter, 
Mattapoisett. 

Michigan—G. A. Zilch, Route 3, Hills 
dale. 

Minnesota—Chas. R. Atchison, Route 
3, Duluth. 

Missouri-—A. J. White, 1502 North 
Green Street, Kirksville. 

Nebraska—Harry Knudsen, 2917 No. 
60th Street, Omaha. 




38 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


Nevada—A. E. Lasher, Box 162, Reno. 

New Hampshire—Walter L. Scott, Box 
23, Windham. 

New Jersey—R. C. Solliday, 33 Hender- 
ison Street, Phillipsburg. 

New York—C. R. Waltamath, Glovers- 
ville. 

North Carolina—P. M. Schulenberger, 
Landis. 

North Dakota—A. W. Ringlee, Binford. 

Ohio—J. A. Baker, Route 3, Elyria. 

Oklahoma—F. L. Lucas, 608 Ferris 
Ave., Lawton. 

Oregon—C. R. Thompson, 1303 Bluff 
St., The Dalles. 

Pennsylvania—Geo. D. Landon, Box 30, 
Towanda. 

Rhode Island—Frank S. Esty, Trinity 
Square, Providence. 

South Carolina—Wendell M. Levi, 
Sumter. 

South Dakota—Clarence Johnson, Lock 
Box 81, Mission Hill. 

Tennessee—Mrs. F. W. Severance, R. 
D. 1, Fountain City. 

Texas—Landon C. Moore, 1713 Young 
St., Dallas. 

Vermont—Alton G. Wheeler, Water- 
bury. 

Virginia—A. P. Hutton, 512 East Main 
street, Abingdon. 

Washington—A. W. Brainard, 8332 46th 
Ave., So. Seattle. 

W. Virginia—Sidney Williams, Raleigh. 

Wisconsin—Walter P. Momsen, White- 
fish Bay. 

Wyoming—J. F. Kling, Box 44, Garland 

Alberta—T. M. Mitchell, 708 15th St., 
N. W. Calgary. 

British Columbia—H. Blanchard, Van¬ 
couver Heights, Vancouver. 

Manitoba—O. W. Thomas, 578 Sher¬ 
brooke St., Winnipeg. 

Ontario—N. H. Gampp, Route 2, New 
Hamburg. 


Saskatchewan—Robert Morley, 508 
Ominica St., S., Moose Jaw. 

South Africa—Gordon T. Cooper, Cham- 
brey, Essexvale, So. Rhodesia. 

Cuba—John R. Bullard, Ingenia Jati- 
bonico, Jatibonico. 


STATE ANCONA CLUBS 

There are more Ancona Clubs func¬ 
tioning today than there are of any 
other breed. This activity and co¬ 
operation among breeders is one of the 
reasons why Anconas are so popular, 
and the demand so widespread and 
active. 

If there is a State Ancona Club in 
your state join it by all means. If 
there is not, get busy and help perfect 
one. The Secretary of The United An¬ 
cona Club will assist in getting new 
State Ancona Clubs organized, if breed¬ 
ers will write him about it. 

Following is a list of State Ancona 
Clubs organized and functioning up to 
the time this book went to press, Sep¬ 
tember, 1923: 

California Ancona Club, 

C. M. Walker, Secy., Route 3, River¬ 
side, Calif. 

Canadian Mottled Ancona Club, 

N. H. Gampp, Secy., Route 2, New 
Hamburg, Out. 

Connecticut Ancor.a Club, 

Al. Collins, Secy., Route 2, Box 469A, 
Stratford, Conn. 

Illinois Ancona Club, 

V. H. Marcellus, Secy., Belvidere, III. 
Indiana Ancona Club, 

W. Guy Pickens, Secy., Route 4, 
Cloverdale, Ind. 

Iowa Ancona Club, 

Emil J. Kremer, Secy., Dyersville, la. 
Kansas Ancona Club, 

F. D. Schroeder, Secy., Buhler, Kas. 
Michigan Ancona Club, 

G. A. Zilch, Secy., Route 3, Hillsdale, 
Mich. 







HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


39 


Minnesota Ancona Club, 

Chas. R. Atchison, Secy., 14 North 
First Ave., Duluth, Minn. 

Missouri Ancona Club, 

Phil Jones, Secy., Sheldon, Mo. 
Nebraska Ancona Club, 

Henry Steffensmeyer, Secy., 2112 Cal¬ 
vert St., Lincoln, Neb. 

New Hampshire Ancona Club, 

Walter L. Scott, Secy., Windham, 
N. H. 

New York Ancona Club, 

Earl S. Wilson, Secy., Hammonds- 
port, N. Y. 

North Carolina Ancona Club, 

Worth M. Lewallen, Secy., High 
Point, N. Car. 

Ohio Ancona Club, 

J. O. Somers, Secy., Bedford, Ohio. 

Oklahoma Ancona Club, 

F. L. Lucas, Secy., 608 Ferris Ave., 
Lawton, Okla. 

Pennsylvania Ancona Club, 

C. E. Johnson, Secy., Route 3, Ligo- 
nier, Pa. 

South Carolina Ancona Club, 

Wendell M. Levi, Secy., Sumter, So. 
Car. 

Texas Ancona Club, 

A. W. Becker, Secy., Box 1176, Dal¬ 
las, Tex. 

Wisconsin Ancona Club, 

W. H. Handorf, Secy., Route 2, Box 
843, Milwaukee, Wis. 


The question is sometimes asked, 
“Why join my breed Club?” I take 
pleasure in reciting some of the rea¬ 
sons for joining. 

Now, the least advantage, is to be 
counted among the progressive breed¬ 
ers, for these Clubs are always made 
up of the most active, progressive and 
influential men and women. 

As an individual breeder you spend 
very little for boosting. Suppose you 
spend $5.00 or $10.00—how far does 


it go? Makes no impression whatever. 
Might about as well throw that amount 
of money away as to try to boost on 
isuch a small scale. But when Club 
members combine their small fees, and 
concentrate their efforts, then it is that 
real boosting is done. 

Suppose a lone breeder wants some 
concession for his breed from a show 
management, a more capable judge, 
etc. His request or protest is given 
scant attention. Let the club ask the 
very same thing, and lo! the favor is 
granted. 

Poultry Journals give columns of 
space to Club affairs, when the individ¬ 
uals could only get similar notice at 
several dollars per inch. 

Organization largely increases ex¬ 
hibition. It is the experience in every 
State that a breed is progressing in 
proportion to the organization of its 
breeders. There can be no other way, 
for progress can only be made by co¬ 
operation, which is organization spell¬ 
ed a little differently. 

No breed of poultry, horses, hogs, 
cattle, sheep, dogs, rabbits, etc., ever 
came into prominence without organ¬ 
ized effort of the breeders behind it. 
The more breeders that are united, and 
the larger the organization fee, the big¬ 
ger the boost, and the faster the breed 
arose to prominence. Club member¬ 
ship is not an expense, but an invest¬ 
ment, and one that pays dividends from 
several hundred to several thousand 
per cent. 

From a purely selfish and mercenary 
motive, every breeder shn.ild oe nn°c To 
and support their breed Club, and from 
a broader motive of helping a good 
cause, and lending a neighbor a hand, 
of making conditions better and fellow¬ 
ship more real, you as a breeder, can¬ 
not afford to stand aloof and share in 
the benefits of Club boosting, without 
giving your breed organizations both 
moral and financial support. 

During the war these “loafers” were 
branded as “slackers” and a better 
term never was invented. It applies 
in poultrydom quite as well.— (Sign¬ 
ed) A. JOINER in O. K. Poultry Jour¬ 
nal. 






HISTORY OP ANCONAS 



*r No. 81 Arlington Street 


Frc i mincj ha m 


M ussdclrascl'l's 





first i-'xizf: c°mb ahc°ha c°ck 

J3 ° ST R M HHH- IOS&- 

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Our specialty is (lay-old chicks, and our capacity of several thousand 
enables us to take care of almost any requirements. 


We exhibit at some of the biggest and best shows in the country, 
and our mating list and catalog shows our winnings have been quite 
remarkable. We have no special matings for ourselves, but list every 
mating we have, and sell from all of them. 

SEND FOR OUR CATALOG 


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It tells the whole story, and should be read by everyone interested 
Rose Comb Anconas 


♦5* *5* * *t* *t* *S»*•>♦!« <* *t« i* ♦!* *J* *t+ *1* <t* *1« ♦!< * *i* *{• *$• «$» «.♦« ♦$* «$> »+♦ «.$, »♦» *♦< 





















HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


41 


* p=?-' . : —"- ' ' --- . 

\ • f 

Anconas in Enqland 

*1 ^ . -."^- r ^ ^ -»- 


Anconas were introduced into Eng¬ 
land from Italy in 1848—forty-two 
years before the first exportation was 
made from England to the United 
States. 

The English poultry breeders were 
not slow to realize the superiority of 
Ancona?, and the breed became firmly 
established, and have since been one 
of the leading breeds for profit, and 
have consistently made records in the 
Laying Contests. 

The English Ancona differs some¬ 
what in type from the American Stan¬ 
dard, and also is bred lighter in color. 
The following is reprinted from the 
English Ancona Club Standard. 

General Characteristics. 

Cock 

Head —Deep, moderate in length, rath¬ 
er inclined to width, carried well 
back. 

Beak— Medium, moderate curve. 

Eye —Bright and prominent. 

Comb —Single, medium, upright with 
deep broad even serrations (5 to 7) 
forming a regular curve, coming- 
well back and following line of 
head, free from excrescences. 

Face —Bright Red. 

Earlobe— Medium, inclined to almond 
shape, free from folds. 

Wattles —Long, fine in texture; in pro¬ 
portion to comb. 

Neck —Long, nicely arched, well-cover¬ 
ed with hackle. 

Body— Broad, tapering to tail, close 
and compact. 

Back —Moderate length. 

Wings —Large, carried well tucked up. 
Breast —Full and broad, carried well 
forward and upward. 

Legs and Feet —Medium length, strong, 
set well apart, clear of feathers 
thigh not much seen. 


Toes— Four, rather long and thin, well 
spread out. 

Tail —Full, carried well out. 

Size and Weight —Cockerels about 5*4 
lbs. 

Carriage —Alert, bold, active. 

General Appearance —Good beetle- 
green ground, tipped with white 
(the more V-shaped the better), 
no inclination to lacing. 

Hen 

Head —Moderate length, rather broad. 

Ey e —Bright and prominent. 

Comb —Medium, falling on one side, 
partly hiding face, free from ex¬ 
crescences, broad serrations, fine 
in texture. 

Face —Bright Red. 

Earlobe —Medium. 

Wattles— Medium length, well round¬ 
ed, fine in texture. 

Neck —Medium length, carried well up. 

Body —Round and compact, with great¬ 
er posterior development than cock 

Back —Rather long and broad. 

Wings —Large, carried close to body. 

Breast —Full and prominent. 

Legs and Feet —Same as cock. 

Toes —Same as cock. 

Tail— Neat, carried well out. 

Size and Weight— Pullets about 4%.lbs. 

Carriage —Lively, active. 

General Appearance —Good beetle- 

green ground, tipped with white 
(the more V-shaped the better), 
no inclination to lacing. 

Colour. 

Beak— Yellow, with black or horn- 
coloured shadings. A wholly yel¬ 
low beak not desirable—see “De¬ 
fects.” 

Eye: —Iris, orange red; pupil, hazel. 

Comb, Face and Wattles -Bright red, 
face free from white. 

Earlobe— White. 











42 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


Legs —Yellow-mottled, the more even¬ 
ly mottled the better. 

Plumage. 

The more evenly Y-tipped through¬ 
out with beetle-green and white the 


better, provided the ground colour is 
beetle-green. 

Scale of Points. 

Eye _ 5 points 

Comb _10 points 

Lobe _ 5 points 

Tail _ 15 points 

Legs and Beak _10 points 

Purity of White, quality and 

evenness of tipping_20 points 

Beetle-green ground colour, 

dark to skin _15 points 

Condition _ 5 points 

Type _10 points 

Size _ 5 points 


100 points 


Defects 

White or light under colour, 

to lose__20 points 

Tipping uneven, or not clear 

in white _15 points 

Tail not tipped, or not black 

to roots _10 points 

Wing flights any other color 
than black tipped with 

white _ 10 points 

Bad Comb _ 5 points 

White in face_25 points 

Lobe other than white_ 5 points 

Legs other than mottled 

yellow _ 5 points 

Yellow Beak_ 5 points 


100 points 

Rosecombs. 

Standard and characteristics exactly 
like Single Combs, with the exception 
of comb, which should resemble the 
Wyandotte. 

The following extracts are from lead¬ 
ing Ancona breeders in England: 

Thomas Layberry, (Club Judge, ex- 
Club Secretary): The sterling qualities 
of the Anconas have long been recog¬ 


nized by English poultry breeders, ancl 
the extraordinary laying qualities, 
small feed consumption, and extreme 
beauty have made the breed very 
popular. 

The purple cheen so general in An¬ 
cona plumage years ago, has been re¬ 
placed by beetle-green; the feathers 
instead of being simply mottled are 
now black, just tipped at the end with 
white. The body has been beautifully 
rounded, and the carriage improved, 
until we now have one of the hand¬ 
somest and most profitable fowls living. 


WBliam F. Barber, (Judge): Anconas 
are a breed that does not require boom¬ 
ing; they need only to be known to be 
appreciated. As Egg producers I find 
them second to none, and in the coldest 
winter months will lay almost as reg¬ 
ularly as in the summer. 

Anconas have the advantage over 
other breeds in quick maturity, pullets 
often laying at the age of 18 to 20 
weeks. This is a most decided advan¬ 
tage, as pullets may be late hatched, 
and be in full lay before winter. The 
eggs of pullets from the start are 
sizable, while those laid by yearling 
hens rival Mmorca and Andalus.an. 

This is not all, for half a dozen active 
Anconas may be kept in full lay on a 
quantity of food that would feed only 
three or four Orpingtons or other heavy 
breeds, while on free range they are 
such excellent foragers that during 
the summer months a very small morn¬ 
ing and evening meal will keep them 
fit and laying. They are therefore, in 
my opinion, the ideal egg producer for 
the farmer or backyard fancier. Add¬ 
ed to this any fancier will admit they 
are one of the prettiest breeds we have. 

Of the Rose Comb Ancona I can 
speak even more highly as an egg pro¬ 
ducer. They are equally as good sum¬ 
mer or winter; even the most severe 
winter weather does not seem to check 

























HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


43 


them. Four of my Winning Rose Comb 
Pullets laid 904 eggs in their pullet 
year. I think this fully answers the 
question, can utility and fancy be com¬ 
bined. Most emphaticary yes as ap¬ 
plied to Anconas, perhaps more so 
than any other breed. Another de¬ 
cided advantage with Anconas is that 
it requires only one pen to produce 
exhibition specimens of both sexes. 
There is not the slightest doubt that 
the fall from popularity of several of 
our most useful breeds is the evil of 
the double mating system,—that is to 
say, two pens are required to breed 
cockerels and pullets for exhibition. 
From cock breeding pens the pullets 
often look wasters, and vice-versa. An- 
conas stand at a distinct advantage in 
this respect. 

I believe Rose Comb Anconas were 
introduced by Mr. Chance of Birming¬ 
ham in 1901. This variety was ex¬ 
hibited at the Dairy Show in 1902. 


Thos. Nicholson: The reason I took 
up Anconas years ago, was because 
I was a fancier as well as a utilitarian, 
and with Anconas I could obtain an 
abundance of eggs at a low cost of pro¬ 
duction, and exhibit and win with the 
same birds. Anconas are wonderful 
foragers, and if at liberty will find the 
greater part of their food; at the same 
time they are ideal fowls for intensive 
systems, as they rarely get too fat 
when confined. 

For years I kept my Anconas in a 
London back garden, and even under 
these conditions the birds always gave 
a good account of themselves, the 
cockerels being very precocious, and 
he pullets often lay ng at 4y 2 months. 
Further, I have always been very suc¬ 
cessful in hatching and rearing from 
intensively kept Anconas, and no 
doubt the hardiness and activity of the 
birds was the reason for this. 

An Ancona hen will remain profitable 


for upwards of six years. I have had 
200-egg average from Ancona hens in 
their fourth year. 

E. F. Hurt: The Ancona, being a 
long-established pure breed, offers no 
difficulties to the novice who wishes 
to breed birds true to type, with a 
minimum of culls in his utility stock. 
Anconas having a bi-colored plumage, 
offers greater distinction in the show 
pen than a breed of one color, where 
the difference between the winner and 
the worst bird may be a mere shade 
of color that no novice can distinguish. 

Anconas are undoubtedly the hardi¬ 
est of all breeds. Originating in Italy, 
where the climate varies from the hot, 
sub-tropical to many degrees below 
zero, they have an innate ability to 
withstand all climates, and the best 
breeders in this country have recog¬ 
nized this and have not pampered their 
stock. We make a point not only of 
rear'ng o^r b'rds :'n the open hills, but 
of allowing the young stock to sleep 
out in the trees from May to Novem¬ 
ber. Of the two varietie s of Anconas 
the rose combs are the most hardy, 
having the advantage of a comb that 
is not affected by the severest frost or 
damp. 

Anconas may be kept where you like, 
and almost how you like, with reason¬ 
able precautions for sanitation and 
ventilation. They do equally well in- 
tensivelv, semi-intensively, or on free 
range, though, under the latter condi¬ 
tions they are in their true element 
and will pick up more than half the 
food they require. 

No special feeding is necessary, as 
Anconas are exceptionally hardy and 
need no pampering. The main point 
to be observed is not to overfeed. The 
only critical time, as with other light 
breeds, is at two to three weeks old, 
when they are feathering their wings. 
At this time they should have pin-head 




44 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


oatmeal to keep up their strength; a 
pinch of sulphur in their food to help 
make feathers; plenty of green stuff, 
especially chopped onion tops; and a 
little iron tonic in the water. Skim¬ 
med milk, if the dishes are scalded 
daily, is excellent from one to four 
weeks old. At this period particular 
attention should be paid to overcrowd¬ 
ing, so that they do not tread on each 
other’s wings, which are somewhat un¬ 
wieldy at this period. 

The cockerels should be separated 
from the pullets at eight weeks, and 
never later than ten weeks. Anconas 
are very precocious and very rapid 
growers, and should never be forced. 

House as you like, but give plenty of 
air, a dry scratching floor, ample 
light, and opportunity for exercise. 


ANCONAS IN NOVA SCOTIA 

(By H. H. Hull) 

Many breeds and varieties of poul¬ 
try are being bred in Nova Scotia, but 
we can safely say that there is no 
breed that has so quickly and surely 
placed themselves in the front rank 
as a layer and profit payer as the An¬ 
cona. Practically unknown in Nova 
Scotia fifteen years ago, today they 
are one of the biggest classes found 
at our shows, and many breeders are 
discarding other birds, that they have 
bred for years, in favor of Anconas, 
for the simple reason that they pay a 
bigger profit. It is no idle claim that 
is made by the Ancona men that they 
can feed three Anconas on the same 
amount of feed that it takes to feed 


one of any of the American varieties. 
They have proved this time and again. 
This allows them to keep a much 
larger number of hens on the same 
floor space, and gives them a corre¬ 
spondingly larger egg yield. 

As a poultryman’s profit is chiefly 
made from the sale of eggs, you can 
readily see what a handicap other 
breeds are under, when competing 
with Ancona, Furthermore, the Nova 
Scotia and particularly the Cape Bre¬ 
ton bred Ancona has established a 
reputation for hardiness and ability to 
stand sudden and extreme changes in 
temperature that is remarkable. Per¬ 
sonally l have seen a flock of Anconas 
during winter housed in an open front 
house that were living under out of 
door conditions night and day. The 
owner told me that he was getting a 
50% egg yield, and to judge by the ap¬ 
pearance of the birds, no one would 
doubt his statement. 

We expect the Ancona in the near 
future to go right to the top in Nova 
Scotia, both as a show and as a utility 
bird. Here you have a fowl that is 
really beautiful, that is a great layer, 
a small feeder, that matures quickly, 
and that will pay a bigger profit than 
any other breed. What more can one 
ask? 

If you have never bred Anconas, 
make a start this season, get some 
chickens hatched in May or June, give 
them ordinary attention and next win¬ 
ter when the snow is knee deep and 
the glass stands ten below, you will 
have the pleasure of knowing what a 
real layer looks like. 





HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


45 



COMBINE BEAUTY AND UTILITY 
IN THE HIGHEST DEGREE. 

They Lay the Most, Eat the Least, Look the Best. Having a limited 
area for poultry, I cull them closely, and keep none 
but the very choicest. 



I have been in the arena for over twenty years, and have never 
been beaten in the show room on mature birds. 

Have exhibited at many of the large shows, including National 
Club meets. 

“Beauty Strain” demonstrates its superiority in the trap-nest as 
well as in the show room. Their egg-laying ability is inbred, and 
maintained by trap-nesting, line-breeding, and selection. 

Write for Mating, Show and Price List. 

R. R. BE4MS 

2229 South Eighth Sreet - - - LINCOLN, NEBRASKA 

Life Member American Poultry Association 
Member United Ancona Club 

1 am developing a strain of Single Comb Anconas, on which T have 
been working for some time. Am now prepared to quote prices on 

this variety. 











4a 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


I*ip^ ^ @§ 

1 . # f 

Anconas in South Africa 

N . 

fci-frr.,., ^ _ ^ e> rzzrrr2z.b-, 

Bij Gordon Cooper 


When the Editor of the Ancona 
World asked me if I would write an 
article about Anconas in S. Africa 1 
assented with pleasure not because I 
feel an expert at literary accomplish¬ 
ments but for the reason that I th'nk it 
is a matter of interest to all Ancona 
breeders to know how the breed fares 
elsewhere. Personally, although I have 
only bred fowls for four years, I have 
just had the one breed. I have never 
regretted it, and since joining up with 
the United Ancona Club my enthusiasm 
has redoubled when I see how well 
the breed progresses in the States. 

Before giving an account of the 
history of Anconas it would perhaps be 
just as well if I described shortly what 
comprises South Africa. There is first 
of all the Union of S. Africa with a 
white population of one and a half mil¬ 
lions (about half being of British de¬ 
scent and half Dutch); then, there is 
what was recently German South West 
but now administered by the Union, 
and here the white population is only 
a few thousands. To the North of the 
Union lies Bechuanaland, which is 
largely a native state administered by 
the British Crown, and beyond this lies 
Rhodesia with a total white population 
of under 40,000. Beyond Rhodesia lies 
the Belgian Congo, and on either side 
Portugese Territory. A glance at the 
map will show the great area of all 
this country, which however is all link¬ 
ed up by railways. The native races 
largely exceed the white in numbers 
but generally are in a very primitive 
state. 

Rhodesia was only opened up in 1893, 
and, in fact, the history of modern S. 
Africa may really He said to date only 


from after the Boer War in 1902 as 
previously everything was in a very 
primitive and backward condition. 
This fact must be taken into considera¬ 
tion when viewing the progress the 
poultry industry has made over here. 

The first record of Anconas in S. 
Africa was in 1902 when Mr. Bourlay, 
at present in charge of the Union’s 
poultry Division, was sent to Great 
Britain by the Imperial Government 
to purchase stock. Among the 240 
birds he brought back was a pen of 
Anconas bred by his mother who, at 
that time, was one of the greatest 
authorities on Anconas in England. 
Since then the breed has taken a firm 
hold, more especially : n the Transvaal. 
The Ancona breed of course adapts 
itself admirably to almost any climate, 
but certainly in most of Africa one 
finds an almost exact replica of its 
crignal home in Italy, that is fairly 
great extremes of heat arid cold. 

Since their first introduction the 
chief strain has been the English Hurt. 

I understand one American pen has 
been introduced but at the present 
there is no record of it. The principal 
exhibitors in the early days were 
James Ryley and W. Sharp, the fir A 
named being the first secretary of the 
S. A. Ancona Club. 

As regards their performances in 
laying Test and Show Room. In 1904 
Anconas were entered in the Govern¬ 
ment Laying Test, and in this they 
won the 6 months winter test; since 
then they are usually represented in 
the various tests and have done re¬ 
markably well. 

At the various shows there are al¬ 
ways special classes for Anconas 





















HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


47 


which are well filled. One of the most 
remarkable records to their credit was 
at the Rand Show of 1920 when a hen, 
the property of Mr. George Dagg, won 
the best hen on Show with 1500 birds 
competing, which is certainly a re¬ 
markable record for a bird of the Med¬ 
iterranean class. 

There is a S. African standard for 
Anconas but at shows it is just as well 
to know who the judge is to be, as 
there are various ideas as to the cor¬ 
rect mottling. The standard says 
“evenly mottled,” and the Government 
experts judge this according to the 
English Standard. All other judges 
however are more in favor of a darker 
bird and more like the present Ameri¬ 
can standard. The angle of the tail, 
etc., generally follow the English stan¬ 
dard. Personally, I favour the darker 
mottling, as when you take the b rd 
tipped white in every feather the pro¬ 
geny always throw far too white, and 
you have to introduce dark cockerels 
to balance up. 

I hope this short article will give 
readers an idea of how the breed is 
doing here. The two principal breeds 
in S. Africa so far have been the White 
Leghorn and the Black Orpington. 
There is a lot of leeway to be made up, 
but in Anconas you have a bird quite 
capable of doing it besides which they 


possess qualities that the other two 
breeds lack. What we chiefly want is 
more boosting. Nearly all the breed¬ 
ers out here take up several breeds, 
which to my mind is a mistake. They 
then simply supply what the public 
asks for instead of picking out what 
they believe to be the best breed and 
boosting it as much as they can. The 
complexities of scientific poultry breed¬ 
ing make it quite impossible for one 
person to develop satisfactorily half 
a dozen or more breeds. 

For commercial work I cannot im¬ 
agine a more suitable bird. The writer 
has the largest Ancona plant in Africa, 
and close on a thousand birds are 
running. Quite apart from any quali¬ 
ties of heavy laying etc., the chief 
point in their favour to my mind is 
their extraordinary stamina and vital¬ 
ity. The smaller the death rate the 
greater the profit, and sickness spells 
more failures than anything else. 

In conclusion may I say how lucky 
I think the breed is to have such a 
pushing enthusiast as Mr. Van Hoesen 
to boost it. We could do with him 
over here. 

I have had great assistance in writ¬ 
ing this article from Mr. J. Eaves, the 
Secretary of the S. A. Ancona Club, to 
whom I am much indebted. 










48 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


Riverdale Mottled Anconas 

Americas Greatest Laying and Winning Strain | 

Winners all Dominion Egg-Laying Contests 1920 

at Brandon, Manitoba. | 

Winners 1921 Ottawa, Ontario, Egg-Laying Contest for highest j 

revenue over cost of feed. 

Winners 1922 Egg-Laying Contest at Brandon, Manitoba, 
leading all other breeds. 

Winners at Canadian Mottled Ancona Club meet 1921 Hamilton, ! 

Ontario, winning Ancona Silver Cup * 

for best collection. } 


Exhibition and Utility Breeding Stock at reasonable prices. 

♦ 

Hatching Eggs and Baby Chicks in Season. J 

Write your wants. I 


N. H. Gampp Box 143 

New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada 

Secy.-Treas. Canadian Mottled Ancona Club 














HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


49 


Notes on the Standard 

B$j L. W. Riic*.<?b.iic.r 


There seems to be a good deal of 
opinion among Ancona men that the 
recent changes in the Standard are 
going to give us a light bird. Some 
who have been preaching against the 
dark birds being given ribbons in the 
shows welcome the change as favoring 
the light specimen. Others have grave 
misgivings that their work of years 
is all to naught; and the advocates of 
the dark birds tell us we will have no 
more refined beauty, but a motley, 
open colored bird. Now there is really 
nothing to worry about. We are not 
going to have light Anconas, nor is any 
breeder who has good stuff going to be 
obliged to start over. The 1923 change 
is just another step toward the ideal 
for which breeders have been striving 
for years. Back in 1915 the Standard 
was made one feather in five tipped 
with white. This was done at the 
time to do away with the open colored 
birds that were very prevalent in the 
show room. Breeders have succeeded 
in overcoming this, and in so doing 
have developed the small tipping that 
is so beautiful. They have found also 
that one feather in five with a small 
tip give a very dark bird, and their 
most beautiful specimens are those 
with the fine tips and plenty of them. 
Now you breeders who think your 
work of years is wasted, pick up your 
best birds, those with the small tips, 
and see how many feathers you find on 
them that are totally black. We find 
that the most beautiful specimens are 
closer to having a tip on every feather 


than every other feather. Relatively 
speaking, the real exhibition Ancona of 
today is a dark bird. The new Stan¬ 
dard calls for a very small, clean, white 
tip on every second feather. Can you 
imagine anything more beautiful than 
a glossy greenish-black surface gen¬ 
erously sprinkled over with tiny snow¬ 
flakes? That’s the modern Ancona. 

No breeder should lose sight of the 
Standard. The most deplorable con¬ 
dition in the poultry world from a 
breeding standpoint is the lack of ap¬ 
preciation and often utter disregard 
of the Standard type and breed char¬ 
acter among poultrymen and “utility 
breeders.” The various popular breeds 
of poultry first made good in a com¬ 
mercial way as bred to the standards 
of the old days, before there were any 
“utility breeders.” The Standard of 
Perfection itself is a production stan¬ 
dard as well as a standard of beauty, 
and whenever there are changes made 
‘n type they are made in favor of bet¬ 
ter production. The Ancona especially 
among all other types is one that can 
be bred to perfection with the as¬ 
surance that highest production can 
at the same time be attained if the 
vigor, habits and performance are at 
the same time watched. Unlike some 
other breeds, we do not find among An¬ 
conas Standard-bred strains and “Util¬ 
ity” strains. We find only Standard 
Anconas, Look up the various ad¬ 
vertisements of high records, official 
and otherwise. You will find these 
same strains winning in the shows. 


no 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 






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By Mrs. James A. Clevencjer 


The Ancona stands supreme as a 
profitable producer, a fact which has 
been proven in our greatest official con¬ 
tests and over and over again in the 
back lots and farm yards of the whole 
United States. 

I can produce (scores of letters as 
witnesses from all parts of the country 
to verify the above statement, from 
folks who had to be shown, folks like 
you and me, who want proof, and have 
gone about getting it in their own way. 
Most of these people have tried out 
the Ancona with other breeds to deter¬ 
mine for themselves which fowl is the 
most profitable, and in every case have 
discarded the other breeds in favor of 
the little speckled hens. 

Take our own case. We had been 
successful breeders of one of the larger 
breeds for a number of years, hut up¬ 
on trying them out in the West we 
found that there was not a great de¬ 
mand for them, as the western folks 
are after eggs, lots of them and big 
profits. They also want to buy baby 
chicks out here, and the kind we had 
were simply too hard to hatch to be 
very profitable in that way. We look¬ 
ed the field over, and came to the con¬ 
clusion that the Ancona was the breed 
we wanted, but being from Missouri, 
we must try them out beside our other 
fowls before coming to a definite con¬ 
clusion. 

The results far exceeded our fondest 
hopes. As winter layers they actually 
had our big fluffy birds ( who are very 
famous in this respect) beaten to a 
frazzle, and when we compared the 
size of the eggs, much to our surprise. 


the little speckled hens, although 
scarcely half as large, laid far the larg¬ 
er egg. Then best of all was the com¬ 
parison of the food consumed and the 
profits. We could keep twice as many 
Anconas on a given amount of feed, 
in half the housing space and gather 
more than twice as many eggs. Eure¬ 
ka! We had found what we were look¬ 
ing for, and lost no time in stocking 
with Anconas. 

Mrs. Etta Hughes of the Rainbow 
Poultry Farm is one of the most en¬ 
thusiastic Ancona boosters that we 
have in this section of the country. She 
had tried out Rhode Island Reds, White 
Rocks, Barred Rocks, and White Leg¬ 
horns in succession without realizing 
much profit until she began the breed¬ 
ing of Anconas. She has told me many 
times that there is no doubt in her 
mind as to which is the most profit¬ 
able chicken to keep. She has dis¬ 
posed of all the other breeds and is 
specializing in Anconas, and realizes 
a tidy sum annually. What she does, 
any farm woman can do if she will. 

I especially wish to tell you of the 
experience of Mr. C. C. Rawlings of 
Wyoming. I have been corresponding 
with him from the beginning of his 
experiment and have his complete re¬ 
ports before me, from which I will 
quote. Mr. Rawlings is a banker who 
wished to have some profitable side 
line by way of outdoor exercise and 
his attention was drawn to poultry cul¬ 
ture. He had heard much about the 
Ancona as a money maker, but as the 
White Leghorn had also been recom¬ 
mended he was undecided as to which 





















HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


51 


would really be the best for com¬ 
mercial purposes. 

To settle the matter definitely in his 
own mind, Mr. Rawlings decided to pur¬ 
chase an equal number of baby chicks 
of the two breeds, have them shipped 
on the same day, and rear them to¬ 
gether. Afterwards they were housed 
separately and a correct account kept 
of food consumed, eggs laid, etc. The 
following are extracts from Mr. Raw¬ 
lings’ letters: 

“Oct. 25, 1921. 

“I explained to you last May when 
ordering chicks, that I expected to con¬ 
duct a contest between Anconas and 
White Leghorns. We really like the 
Anconas best to date, because they 
have grown faster, are a little larger 
than the Leghorns and the cockerels 
are easier to sell for table use. If they 
turn out eggs as well as the Leghorns 
in our contest, Anconas are what we 
will keep in future.” 

“Dec. 7. 

“The Anconas have started to lay, 
have been laying since Thanksgiving, 
but haven’t got an egg from my White 
Leghorns yet. The Anconas, nearly all 
of them, have nice red combs and sing 
and scratch all the time, but the Leg¬ 
horns never do sing and don’t seem to 
be as far along. We can’t understand 
it.” 

December—“Anconas laying 18%, 
Leghorns 9%.” 

Month of January—“Anconas laying 
40%, Leghorns 20%.” 

March—“Race about even.” 

In 1922 Mr. Rawlings bought Anconas 
exclusively, and again we have him 
booked for 1000 for 1923. I have his 
report of a 60% to 70% production 
from his Anconas during the warm 
months. The last letter I received is 
a summing up of the year’s activities, 
and it is interesting to note how the 


Anconas suit a discriminating trade 
as table fowl. 

“Dear Madam: — 

“I expect you would like to know 
how our chicken business is progress¬ 
ing. W'ell I will start with the baby 
chicks. When our five hundred chicks 
were three weeks old we had a cloud 
burst, drowning eighty-five of our 
chicks. I was away at the time the 
flood struck us or I might have saved 
them, but there was about four feet of 
water between our house and the little 
chick house and my wife couldn’t wade 
it. When I got there the water was 
about three inches deep all over our 
brooder house floor and chickens were 
scattered all over. I carried what 
was alive into the kitchen and my 
wife built up a good fire and they soon 
settled down in the tubs and boxes that 
we had them in and we never lost any 
more from chilling, and I supposed we 
would as they were all just as wet as 
they could be. We got the brooder 
house dried out and put them back out 
there the next morning and they have 
been fine and dandy ever since. We 
have sold a hundred and ninety some 
cockerels for fryers and have a hun¬ 
dred and eighty-seven pullets and they 
sure are a nice even bunch, much far¬ 
ther along than our pullets were last 
year at the same age. 

“The dining car trade has been fine. 
We supplied all eight of the cars with 
eggs through June and July, when our 
eggs commenced to fall off and we 
dropped a car at a time through Au¬ 
gust until since the first of September 
we have only been supplying four of 
them, that makes a case every other 
day. We have also sold them over 
600 springers and about a hundred 
hens, we get 40c a pound for springers 
and 31c for hens with the feathers off. 
Ancona cockerels are just right for 
them for springers as they want them 
to weigh about two pounds. Next year 





HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


r »2 

we are going to do a big business with 
them providing we don’t stub our toe 
some way as they will take each day 
from the 15th of June until the 15th of 
September six dozen springers and a 
dozen hens, or as many, under that 
amount, as we can supply. Just figure 
that up and see how many springers 
it will take, and if you don’t think 
that is much of a market, they will 
contract for 7,500 two pound springers 
for their Cody eating house at the Yel¬ 
lowstone Park entrance. 

“Well we are going into this winter 
with our 187 Ancona pullets, and 60 
yearling Ancona hens and I am build¬ 
ing a new house now 16x34, in which 
we expect to put 500 baby chicks in 
March and use it for what pullets we 
raise from them, next winter. We al¬ 
so expect to buy another 500 in May 
and are going to hatch what we can 
from our 60 yearling hens mated with 
three cockerels we raised out of the 
setting of eggs we got from you last 
spring. So you see we are going in a 
little stronger all the time, but our 
hens have made us money this year 
and I am going to build the new houses 
off by themselves so that there will 
just be about 200 hens in a place and 
I don’t see why, if one flock will make 
money, two flocks won’t. 

“The State Poultryman was here 
and held a culling demonstration at 
our house the 17th of August and cull¬ 
ed our whole flock. We had 81 White 
Leghorns and 62 Anconas and he cull¬ 
er 19 cf the Leghorns and only 2 of 
the Anconas.” 

“Very truly yours, 

“C. C. RAWLINGS.” 

“If all this is true,” you ask, “why 
is it, that more of the commerical 
plants do not handle the Anconas?” 

The fact is that the commerical men 
are laboring under a false impression. 
They have been told, and repeatedly 
told, that the White Leghorn is the 


standard by which the prolificness of 
all other breeds is measured, until they 
have really come to believe it, and 
furthermore the popularity of white 
plumage has been confused with heavy 
egg production. When we sift the 
matter to the bottom by consulting 
the official records of the contests, we 
learn that the Leghorn must divide 
honors with the Rocks, Reds, Wyan- 
dottes, the Anconas and every other 
breed, in face of the fact that most of 
our egg laying contests are practically 
filled with the White Leghorn class. 

Give the Anconas an equal chance, 
and they will prove their superiority 
every time. Although a very old breed, 
they are comparatively new in Amer¬ 
ica and have not been exploited as 
long and widely as the Leghorn. Fur¬ 
thermore, the demand for them as 
breeding stock has been so heavy that 
they have never been put on the mar¬ 
ket at such low prices as the Leghorn. 
The commercial man can buy Leghorn 
chicks at about half what he has to 
pay for Ancona chicks, which is an 
added attraction to him. This, how¬ 
ever, is to the advantage cf the Ancona 
breeder, as his field has never become 
so overrun that he is forced to sell 
his product so low that there is no 
profit for him. 

Commercial plants are taking up the 
Ancona, and the time is not far oft 
when the balance will swing in their 
favor. The Ancona is a superior table 
fowl, and when the public once tries 
them there will be a steady demand 
for them as broilers, as has been 
shown in the foregoing experience of 
Mr. Rawlings. The Ancona hen never 
seems to get so old that she is not a 
sweet, tender morsel for the table. 

The very best way to bring our won¬ 
derful birds to the attention of the 
commercial poultryman is to flood the 
contests with Anconas. Let’s simply 
take them by storm and show them 
that the Ancona is really all we claim. 
One pen in a contest amongst 30 or 50 
pens of Leghorns stands a mighty poor 
show, but if we enter them in equal 
numbers the commercial folks will get 
their eyes open. They are too intelli¬ 
gent to pay attention to home made 
records, so let’s give them something 
worth while. 


'Ml’***-**'* ^***%**4%****%*****^**44*4**^4^HN^4Mf-*4#^*^*^ 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 




GREAT WESTERN ANCONAS 

The Satisfying Kind 

The value of a show winning can only be determined by the 
strength of the competition, regardless of the size of the city in which 
the show is held, or its past history. The National meet of the United 
Ancona Club at Omaha, Nebraska, was the strongest Ancona show of 
1922 season. 256 of the Nation’s best Anconas were in competition, 
the very cream of the East and West. In this great show, the highest 
honors were captured by the Great Western Poultry Farm, winning Five 
Times as Many Firsts and Seconds as the nearest competitor, as fol¬ 
lows: First and second cockerels in a class of 42, first pullet, class of 
53, second hen in a class of 18, and second young pen in a class of 12. 



La d a Col am b i n e 

1st Pullet Colorado State Fair 1920. Pronounced by Judge Tucker one of the 

best Anconas he had ever seen. 


We are not alone satisfied with a cash profit from our sales, but 
we have an ideal to uphold—a standard to maintain. Our customers 
must make good. Our strain must be a better strain, one that will 
bring success to the purchaser, or it should cease to exist. 

Great Western Strain is making good. Our customers are coming 
back year after year. We have hundreds of customers' making big 
profits with Great Western Strain who never made a dollar with chick¬ 
ens before. They will do as well for you. 

We can supply your every need, whether show birds or real bred- 
to-iay stock is desired. We take a personal interest in every customer, 
and will gladly advise concerning your breeding problems. Correspon¬ 
dence a pleasure 

GREAT WESTERN .POULTRY FARM 


JAMES A. CLEVENGER, Manager 

Box 2147 - Rocky Ford, Colorado 

ft-ftft-ftftft ftftftftftftftft ftftftftftftftftftftftftft'fc'fc'* ftftftft ftftftftftftftft') 







54 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 



This is the iuay an incubator tray of Ancona baby chichs appears 












HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


55 






Ancona Engravings 


-- 


There is no breed of poultry, or other domestic animals, that have so many 
different stock (or ready-made) engravings of same as do Anconas. The reason 
for this is that the Secretary of the United Ancona Club, and Editor and Pub¬ 
lisher of The Ancona World magazine, is a practical printer and advertising 
man, and has for years been building up this department of Ancona publicity 
boosting. 

These engravings, or “cuts” as they are more generally called, are avilable 
for use in any Ancona printing or advertising,—such as letter heads, envelopes, 
cards, tags, circulars, folders, catalogs, display ads. and to illustrate magazine 
articles, etc. The cuts are made in different sizes and styles, to conform to the 
needs of all occasions. 

Any of these cuts are used free on printing done for breeders by The An¬ 
cona World. And duplicates of all the cuts are for sale by The Ancona World, 
Franklinville, New York, and will be sent postpaid on receipt of price, on same 
day order is received. 

There are two kinds of cuts—line cuts and halftones. Line cuts are suitable 
for newspaper illustrating, and print well on any kind of finish of paper; particu¬ 
larly adapted to bond paper, shipping tags, rough cover paper, etc. Halftones 
are suitable only for smooth finish paper, such as cards, book paper as used 
for circulars and catalogs, smooth-finish letter heads, envelopes, etc. 

Breeders wishing to have original cuts made from photographs of their 
own birds, poultry plants, selves, etc., can do so by sending photo (good snap¬ 
shots will answer) to The Ancona World. Prices range from $5 up. 

In designating cuts to be used on printing, or ordering cuts to be sent by 
mail, give number indicated under each cut. 



Line Cut No. 1 $2.50 



















56 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 



Line Cut No. 3 
$1.75 




Line Cut No. 6 $1.75 


Line Cut No. 4 
$1.75 


(Line cuts No. 


and 4 on one base. $2) 



Line Cut No. 5 $2.50 



Line Cut No. 7 $1.75 








HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


57 



Halftone No. 10 $2 



Halftone No. 11 $2.50 



Halftone No. 12 $2 


(No. 12 and No. 13 in size 


x 




les, .$•“> each) 









<fs-wi.r-.aE 


58 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 



Halftone No. 14 $2.50 



Halftone No. 19 $2.50 


































HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


59 




Halftone No. 21 
$1.50 


Halftone No. 20 $2.50 



Line Cut No. 22 $2 


Line Cut No. 23 $2 




Halftone No. 24 $2.50 



Halftone No. 25 $2.50 

Ancona Eggs (2) compared with 
Leghorns (1) Orpingtons (3) 














60 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 



Halftone No. 26 
$1.75 



Halftone No. 28 $2 



Cut No. 27 $1.50 




Halftone No. 31 $2 


Halftone No. 32 $2 



ijr\ 

&-y 










O’PVRIGHT 19?I 6V 
THE. ANC°NA W°RiD - 

fRAN*U.INVlH.fc Nt 



Halftone No. 35 $2.50 


Line Cut No. 33 $2 


cue 












HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


61 




Line Cut No. 36 $1 


Line Cut No. 37 $1.75 


Line Cut No. 38 $1.75 




Halftone No. 39 $2.50 

First Prize Ancona Eggs at 
Purdue University Egg Show 



Halftone No. 41 
$2 


Halftone No. 40 
$2.50 


Halftone No. 42 
$2 










62 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 



MDTTIFDAHCQNAS 


THE BREED SUPREME 

Hardy * Beautiful * Popular 

P RODUCE eggs at least cost per 
dozen. Lay rr.ore eggs—consume 
less feed than any other breed. 
Excel as winter layers. 

Lay very large white eggs. 

The greatest profit in Poultry is now 
being made from Anconas. 



Halftone No. 45 
$2 


Booster Cut No. 44 $2.50 


SEND ORDERS TO 

THE ANCONA WORLD 

FRANKLINV1LLE, N. Y. 












HISTORY OP ANCONAS 


63 


i*l ^-- ~ 










Ancona Articles from Magazines 










^d* 


Southern Fancier-Farmer, Atlanta, 
Georgia: 

A breed of fowls may be forced into 
prominence, but they must win their 
way into popularity. 

The latter procedure is true of An- 
conas, as they were introduced into 
America in a very inconspicuous man¬ 
ner, in 1890, and were hardly given a 
boost worth recording for several years 
thereafter. However, through an occa- 
s'cnal friend made in the show room 
and personal recommends from one 
breeder to another, in the course of 
time quite a string of breeders became 
acquainted with this then new fowl in 
the States. 

Then it was that the Ancona Club of 
America was organized, and an earn¬ 
est, though somewhat circumscribed 
effort made to extend their breeding 
and make them more familiar to the 
poultry fraternity. As is ever the 
result of co-operation among enter¬ 
prising breeders, their organized effort 
accomplished great and lasting good. 
The breed was admitted to the Ameri¬ 
can Standard of Perfection (1895); 
the fowls were brought in larger num¬ 
ber to the show rooms; the demand 
was created for stock and eggs; litera¬ 
ture was asked for and distributed de¬ 
scribing the breed; and during the past 
five years Anconas have gradually won 
their way into the front ranks—both in 
the show rooms and in the coops of 
the practical breeders. 

Anconas are of the Mediterranean 
class, native of Italy. They derive 
their name from the province of An¬ 
cona, on the East coast of the penin 
sula, where they have been pure bred 


for so many generations that their 
origin is not discoverable. 

They are so different from any other 
breed, and breed so true without dou¬ 
ble mating, that the theory of their be¬ 
ing a “made” breed is so remote that 
it is not worthy of consideration. If 
the breed was crossed in any manner 
it was several ccntur cs ago, and there 
is no knowledge of when nor how. 

They are fundamentally an egg 
breed, and their eggs are white and 
large. It is claimed that they produce 
eggs at the least cost per dozen of any 
fowl known. 

In appearance the Ancona is a very 
pretty fowl. The plumage is black, 
with a beetle-green luster (quite pro¬ 
nounced in the male), and flecked ir¬ 
regularly with pure white on the tips 
of the feathers; comb and wattles 
bright red, skin yellow, ear lobes white 
legs yellow, sometimes mottled. . 

The hens weigh about six pounds 
and cocks a pound heavier. They are 
very quick to develop, and pullets of¬ 
ten begin laying when sixteen weeks 
old. They are extremely hardy, and 
are bred without difficulty in our most 
Northern States and in Canada. 

There is but one style of Anconas, 
just the mottled; no attempt is made 
to produce a variety of colors. Breed¬ 
ers can see no way to improve them 
pr. they are and have hern tor so ma" r 
years, and are therefore content to let 
well enough alone. 

Any breeder who wants profitable 
poultry should try a pen of Anconas 
and let results determine their decision. 
I can not too strongly urge beginners 
to start with Anconas, as they are 












64 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


quick to mature, hardy, prolific layers 
even when several years old, and a 
good demand for stock and eggs is as¬ 
sured for years to come, as the breed¬ 
ers, though multiplied several times 
during the past five years, yet are not 
able to fill the demand. 


The Maryland Farmer: 

The time was, not many years ago 
either, when the question was fre¬ 
quently asked, “What is an Ancona?” 

This breed of fowls made little pro¬ 
gress when first introduced into the 
United States from England in 1890, as 
there were few breeders interested at 
that time, and for years there was no 
Ancona literature, no organization of 
Ancona breeders, and not an Ancona 
engraving of any kind. They were not 
exploited in any way, not even ex¬ 
hibited at any poultry show, nor ad¬ 
vertised in the public press. How 
could Aneonas advance under such 
conditions and circumstances? 

However, the little scattering of mot¬ 
tled beauties soon began to attract 
local attention by their persistent lay¬ 
ing of large white eggs, and gradually 
their circle of acquaintance broadened 
until it included some real fanciers, 
who took steps to have the breed ad¬ 
mitted into the American Standard of 
Perfection, which was brought to pass 
in 1895. It was not until fifteen years 
after this that the breed was pictured 
in the Standard. 

From this it can readily be seen that 
Aneonas were not exploited and boost¬ 
ed into prominence as new breeds 
usually are. The one thing that has 
made Aneonas so popular as they are 
today, is MERIT. 

We spoke of Aneonas as a new breed. 
That is hardly correct, as the Aneonas 
have for centuries been bred true to 
type in their native province of An¬ 
cona, on the east coast of Italy. For 75 


years they have been a popular breed 
in England. 

The one outstanding characteristic of 
Ancona hens is egg production, in 
which they excel. Pullets begin to 
lay when but 16 to 20 weeks old, and 
are unequalled as winter layers. The 
eggs are very large, usually weighing 

24 to 30 ounces to the dozen, and have 
white shells. 

Aneonas are easy keepers, and great 
foragers when allowed free range. Ex¬ 
periment Station reports have proven 
that Aneonas produce more eggs per 
100 pounds of feed consumed than 
does any other fowl. This means that 
there is more profit in them, which is 
really what most poultry raisers are 
after. 

The appearance of Aneonas is very 
striking and handsome. Their color is 
black-and-white. The background is a 
lustrous greenish black, and about one- 
half of the feathers are tipped with 
small white flecks, making a mottled 
effect that never fails to catch and hold 
the eye of the fancier. The legs are 
yellow, slightly mottled with black. 

Ancona baby chicks are canary color, 
with black backs and heads. They are 
very hardy and develop rapidly, reach¬ 
ing the light broiler stage ahead of 
other breeds. They are always in full 
feather, and never attain the half-clad 
gawky state seen in many breeds of 
half-grown chicks. 

Aneonas are adapted to back-yard 
poultry keeping, as they thrive in close 
confinement if not over crowded. They 
are just the breed for cold climates, 
as they are so close-feathered and very 
active and hardy they stand severe 
winter weather exceptionally well. 

There are but two varieties of An- 
conas—Single Comb and Rose Comb, 
which are identical in every way ex¬ 
cept shape of comb. 

If any reader of this aritcle wishes 
to make the maximum profit from hens. 





HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


65 


or have birds that are not equalled for 
beauty, quick development, hardiness 
and easy keeping, just try a few An- 
conas. A comparison alongside of any 
other breed will convince a possible 
doubter, that we have not made an 

exaggerated statement in the forego¬ 
ing. 

Pac'fic Poult rycraft: 

No breed of fowls ever became such 
a great favorite with so little exploit¬ 
ing, as has the Anconas. 

During the past few years Ancona 
breeders have been awake to their op¬ 
portunities, and the results have been— 

1. Anconas in the show room are one 
of the leading classes, and at many of 
the largest shows of the country lead 
all other breeds in number. 

2. The Ancona breeders are organ¬ 
ized better than are most fanciers, the 
best of good fellowship and harmony 
prevails, and co-operation is manifest. 

3. Anconas have their own publica¬ 
tion, The Ancona World, which is the 
club’s official organ. This magazine 
has not skipped an issue since it was 
founded in April, 1910. 

4. Several fine color-plates of An¬ 
conas have been issued, and innumer¬ 
able engravings published. 

5. An illustrated history of the breed 
in substantial book form is now sold 
by all rou'ti-y publicat ons, news stand j 
and book stores. 

6. There are more state Ancona 
shows, annual state meets and clubs 
than of any other breed. 

7. Anconas hold several world’s rec¬ 
ords, both in private flocks and in na¬ 
tional contests and experiment station 
trials. 

8. Anconas are now probably the 
best advertised breed of fowls, by dis¬ 
play and classified advertisements in 
poultry and live stock publications, 
special articles, news items, illustra¬ 
tions, breeders’ catalogs, circulars and 


printed stationery, club literature, lan¬ 
tern slides, and specialty magazines. 

With all these forces at work the An¬ 
cona is now a leader. For several 
years the demand for breeding stock, 
hatching eggs, and baby chicks has 
been greater than the supply, and the 
breeding of Anconas has been extend¬ 
ed faster than any other breed. We 
can see no reason for any other con¬ 
dition to arise for years to come. 

These are times when much is being 
said and done about food production, 
co-operative marketing, and the high 
cost of foodstuffs. But the greatest 
factor is the economy of production, 
and here is where the Anconas have 
everything else beaten, for it has been 
demonstrated times without number, 
and on the best known authorities, that 
Anconas produce eggs at the least cost 
per dozen of any breed of poultry. And 
not only do Anconas produce the great¬ 
est number of eggs to the hundred 
pounds of feed, but their eggs weigh 
more ounces to the dozen. Now that 
eggs will surely be sold by weight in¬ 
stead of by count in the not distant 
future, and the price of poultry feeds 
is sure to remain very high, the Ancona 
pays the best profit over any other 
breed known. 

In beauty Anconas are excelled by 
no other fowl, and this appeals to many. 
No other breed produces eggs at so 
early an age, as it is not uncommon 
for Ancona pullets to begin laying at 
four to five months old. 

The Ancona will not lay a brown egg, 
nor will one carcass make a dinner for 
eight people, but those are the only 
functions where the Anconas will not 
do the same as any other fowl, and 50 
to 75 per cent better. 

The past and present performances 
of the mottled Ancona is positive proof 
that their future is assured, and that 
the wider and better they are known 
the more popular they will become. 





GG 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


The utility breeder wants the An- 
conas because they are the most profit¬ 
able breed. The fancier wants the An- 
conas because of their constantly in¬ 
creasing popularity, for a has-been 
doesn’t appeal to them. 


Poultry Item: 

Ancona fowls stand at the head of 
the alphabetical index, and also in 
several other respects this handsome 
breed “heads the procession.” 

Their claim as superior layers is 
hacked by practical demonstrations at 
annual egg-laying contests in Missouri, 
U. S. A., and Victoria, B. C.—two of 
the leading government-conducted con¬ 
tests on this continent. And in these 
contests Anconas not only beat all 
other breeds in the number of eggs 
laid per hen per year, but the Ancona 
eggs in both contests were the heaviest 
of all. 

The fact that Anconas lay so many 
eggs, and that their eggs weigh more 
per dozen than any other breed (ab¬ 
solutely no breed excepted) are among 
the reasons why so many beginners 
are starting in with these mottled 
beauties. 

Then, too, it has been de-men trat'd 
times without number by breeders in 
all climes and at all seasons, that An¬ 
conas produce more eggs to the hun¬ 
dred pounds of feed consumed than any 
other breed. The contest at the Mis¬ 
souri Exnerimpnt Staten erod'd tha 4- 
on every 100 pounds of feed consumed, 
the Anconas produced from 30 to 125 
more eggs than other breeds. No other 
fact than this one should be needed to 
induce poultrymen who are after 
profits to discard other breeds for the 
greatest of all egg breeds—the Mot¬ 
tled Ancona. 

Ancona pullets very frequently be¬ 
gin laying when 1G to 20 weeks old, 
and whole flocks will be producing 
eggs from two to three months ahead 
of other breeds. This means that they 


are “boarders” for a very short time 
only and begin early in life to pay a 
profit. 

These claims are not fictitious, but 
are facts from the experience of hun¬ 
dreds of breeders, the trap nest, ex¬ 
periment station findings and govern¬ 
ment contests. 

Is this not enough to make one 
want to become an Ancona breeder? 

Then there is the fancier’s side. 
Why do we find at the large poultry 
shows all over the country that the 
Ancona class is one of the very larg¬ 
est, and frequently outnumbers any 
other breed? Breeders have awaken¬ 
ed to the fact that from a purely 
“fancy” standpoint the Anconas have 
much to recomme'ncj them. Their 
beautiful glossy black, flaked with 
pure white, g'ves them a most attrac 
ive plumage which, coupled with their 
sprightly behavior and proud carriage, 
is enough to make them a prime fa¬ 
vorite with any lover of fancy poultry. 

They are not so easy to breed close 
to the Standard requirements but that 
there is zest to the game. Plenty of 
opportunity here for a breeder to test 
his skill. 

The fancy is well looked after by 
one of the largest and best organized 
specialty clubs and this means that 
the present popularity of Anconas will 
not b° allowed to recede, for a worthy 
breed backed by a strong, active, pro¬ 
gressive club, is sure to be made and 
kept a. winner. 

The publicity given to Anconas is 
not a speculation or promotion for 
money returns. No designs are made 
by large breeders as a means of boost¬ 
ing their own business. It is not a 
matter of profit. The Ancona breed¬ 
ers are so enthused over the perform¬ 
ance of their birds, and the profit they 
show, that they just can’t keep quiet 
about it. 

Any poultry breeder who wants a 
beautiful fowl, and one that pays the 
most profit and whose popularity is 
on the increase, should take up Mot¬ 
tled Anconas. 




HISTORY OP ANCONAS 


C7 



BEAUTY and UTILITY 

Are the two great essentials most sought after hy poultry 
breeders of today, and are demanded by the buying public. 


That we have succeeded in combining these two essentials in our 
exhibition egg strain of S. C. Anconas, is proved by our wonderful 
winnings in the most important shows held in the south, and the high 
egg records—both flock and individual—on our farm and in the hands 
of our customers. 

Anconaton Farms, is a breeding establishment consisting of 13 acres 
devoted entirely to Anconas. Could you see our young stock ranging 
through orchards, woods, cornfields and clover, you could understand 
the “WHY” we breed and raise better Anconas, here at Anconaton farm. 

We could go on and on. telling you about our Anconas, their wonder¬ 
ful advantage of absolute free range, and our methods of LINE-BREED¬ 
ING, but lack of space prevents us from doing so: However our large, 
instructive and well illustrated catalog tells all about it. Write for one 
now before you turn this page. It’s different from others. Be sure and 
get your copy. 

We offer in season Hatching Eggs, Baby Chicks, Breeding Stock 

Our broad guarantee of perfect satisfaction or money refunded is 
your protection. You take no chance, we must please you. Our LINE- 
BRED matings contain only the best, and these matings offer our 
customers the opportunity of securing either baby chicks or hatching- 
eggs from the finest matings in the south, at only a nominal cost. 

WORTH M. LEWALLEN, HIGH POINT, N. C. 

Write for that free Catalog to=night, a postal card will bring it. 




























GS 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


Poultry Culture: 

Anconas have been so much in evi¬ 
dence at the poultry shows throughout 
the country of late and there is so 
much being said about this breed that 
many are seeking information about 
them. 

Anconas are natives of Italy and have 
been bred pure for centuries. They 
have been bred in America for over 
30 years, though only coming into popu¬ 
lar favor during the last 10 years. 
During all this time the standard has 
been improved until the Ancona is one 
of the most beautiful fowls and is built 
for egg production. 

There are but two varieites of An¬ 
conas—single comb and rose comb. 
There will not be any Anconas of any 
colors other than the pure black and 
white mottled. Anconas lay white 
eggs and their eggs weigh more per 
dozen than do the eggs of most other 
breeds. The pullets begin laying at 16 
to 20 weeks of age. Several govern¬ 
ment tests have shown that Anconas 
produce more eggs per hundred 
pounds of feed consumed than any 
other breed. The things that are so 
rapidly advancing the popularity of 
Anconas are early maturity, hardiness, 
great egg production, eggs at lowest 
cost a dozen, large eggs, winter laying, 
beauty, and demand for breeding stock, 
baby chicks, and hatching eggs, which 
means profit. 

No breed of fowls is worth while 
these days that is not championed by 
a live specialty club. Anconas have 
behind them one of the strongest and 
most progressive clubs in poultrydom 
—the United Ancona Club. The An¬ 
cona breeders have, also for years sup¬ 
ported their own pecialty managazine. 
A history of the breed has been pub¬ 
lished in book form, and there are 
more stock cuts of Anconas than of 
any other 10 breeds. All these things 


count for publicity, which is but an¬ 
other name for popularizing a breed. 

Ancona breeders have not, ujntil 
lately, recognized the value of adver¬ 
tising, but now the poultry journals 
contain a. liberal number of both dis¬ 
play and classified advertisements, and 
those breeders who advertise are do¬ 
ing a constantly increasing business. 

Not until recently have Anconas been 
undertaken on large egg farms, but 
now there are many such, and every 
one of them a success. A few years 
hence, and large egg farms where An¬ 
conas are kept exclusively will be quite 
as common as are those where other 
breeds are kept now. 

No claim is made for Anconas as 
a meat breed. They are heavy breast¬ 
ed and are good for table use, but they 
are not in the meat class. However, 
broilers can be marketed ahead of 
other breeds on account of the remark¬ 
ably quick development of the Anconas. 

The poultryman who is after more 
eggs and greater profits will do well 
to take up the Mottled Anconas. Try 
a few in comparison with other breeds, 
keep good accounts of receipts and 
expenses and soon it will be easy to 
tell if Anconas are all that is claimed 
for them. 


fhe Field Illustrated: 

The good old Mottled Ancona fowl 
has for over thirty years withstood the 
competition of other breeds and is the 
same mottled back-and-white beauty 
and large white-egg producer that she 
has been since first imported from 
England in 1890. 

By careful selection and proper mat¬ 
ing Anconas have taken on a more re¬ 
fined figure than of yore, but no side 
issues have ever been attempted, and 
there has never been any other variety 
of Anconas introduced. 

The first decade of Anconas in Amer- 



HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


t>9 


ica was rather uneventful, as the breed 
was in no way promoted, advertised, 
or even pictured. And it was only 
when their wonderful egg production 
began tc be discovered by enterprising 
breeders that the Ancona era opened. 
The day of the egg laying contest then 
came, and Anconas soon began to take 
part in these modern and highly en¬ 
lightening trials and tests. 

Several official laying contests in dif¬ 
ferent parts of the United States, Can¬ 
ada and foreign countries have given 
Anconas the highest honor that can be 
accorded a breed: that they produce 
eggs at the least cost per dozen of any 
breed, that their eggs weigh more per 
dozen, and their percentage of winter 
eggs is the highest. Added to this is 
their remarkable early development, 
and extreme hardiness. 

Anconas breed very true to type and 
color, and have become one of the 
strongest classes at poultry shows 
everywhere. At scores of exhibitions 
Anconas outnumber any other breed. 
When fanciers take up a breed as they 
have Anconas their future popularity 
is assured. Anconas are great for¬ 
agers, and their color makes them com¬ 
paratively safe from hawks, etc., as 
their greenish tint and mottled plum¬ 
age blend with the landscape. They 
are nonsitters, and the rare broody 
hens are easily broken up, and return 
to laying. 


Canadian Poultry Review: 

There are a great many breeders in 
Canada who during the past two or 
three years have been specializing in 
Anconas, both single comb and rose 
comb. 

In several of our egg laying contests 
the Ancona pens have made such satis¬ 
factory records that it has boosted the 
breed into greater prominence. 

The Ancona entries at a large num¬ 
ber of the shows have jumped from 


insignificance to one of the largest 
classes, and quality has kept pace with 
increase in numbers. 

Anconas seem to be well adapted to 
the rigor of Canadian winters, and the 
breed has justified the claims made for 
it of being producers of winter eggs. 

Ancona breeders are well organized, 
and show hearty co-operation in promo¬ 
ting their mutual interests. 

Poultry men and women who have 
not yet taken up Anconas would be 
wise to get started with them. 

The time to make money with a 
breed is when that breed is forging 
ahead, and there is no question but 
Anconas have of late been making 
wonderful progress that is quite likely 
to continue for some time to come. 

Anconas lay a large white egg, and 
several government tests have con¬ 
firmed the claims that Anconas produce 
eggs at less cost per dozen than any 
other breed. This is why Anconas are 
the most profitable. 

In appearance Anconas are strikingly 
handsome birds, having a black plum¬ 
age flecked with white, giving them a 
dressy, mottled appearance. Legs are 
yellow, or yellow mottled with black; 
green or willowy legs are a disquali¬ 
fication. In breeding Anconas care 
should be taken in selecting, as ex¬ 
tremely dark birds are objectionable, 
as are those with white in large splatch- 
es. The feathers should show fine white 
tips about the size of the end of a lead 
pencil rubber. By selection each year 
a uniform and stable mottling will re¬ 
sult. 

Ancona chicks are very hardy and 
vigorous; when first hatched they are 
canary color, with black backs and 
heads. They develop quickly, and ex¬ 
tremely early laying is a pronounced 
Ancona trait. 

Rose combs have during the last 
couple of years been gaining in pop¬ 
ularity. There are but the two vari¬ 
eties,—single and rose comb. 



70 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


O. K. Poultry Journal: 

Of all the many breeds that are rap¬ 
idly gaining in popularity, the Anconas 
head the list. We would not he sur¬ 
prised if some day they would crowd 
the Leghorn for its place as the great 
egg machine. The Anconas are beauti¬ 
ful in every sense of the word. If you 
have ever owned a few you cannot help 
but admire them. Their trim body, 
wonderfully intelligent head, strong 
vigor and vitality, beautiful plumage of 
black and white, with the black and 
green lustre, undoubtedly ranks them 
far to the front among our most beauti¬ 
ful breeds of chickens. Not only are 
they beautiful, but they have won their 
place as one of the greatest egg pro¬ 
ducers. They are great layers and 
mature early. The Anconas are great 
egg machines because they are eco¬ 
nomical egg producers. We feel cer¬ 
tain that before long the Anconas will 
be one of the most popular breeds of 
chickens in the Southwest. They pos¬ 
sess the merit and can and do deliver 
the goods. No prospective poultry keep¬ 
er will make a mistake by tieing their 
fate to the Anconas. 


American Poultry World: 

The present Ancona is a different 
fowl from the Ancona of 1890. It is 
finer in type and more uniform, better 
in comb, ear lobes, and plumage. Brief¬ 
ly speaking it has been much improved 
in color and type. Anconas are very 
precocious, of rapid growth and early 
maturity, and are marvelous layers of 
large white eggs. 


New York World: 

Noted for their early maturity, large 
production of ivory white shelled eggs 
and for excellent quality of meat, the 
Anconas are gaining rapidly in popu¬ 
larity from one end of America to the 
other. They are especially adapted to 


commercial egg farms, where they are 
easily handled in large flock units. 

The mottled Anconas may be con¬ 
sidered to be among the rising genera¬ 
tion of American fowls in popular 
favor. They are coming and coming- 
fast. Those who like a chicken which 
is especially profitable as an egg pro¬ 
ducer, attractive in plumage pattern, 
and adapted to stand intensive condi¬ 
tions under large flock commercial 
poultry management will find the An¬ 
cona worthy of their consideration. 

The Ancona is among our oldest 
breeds of poultry, the early records 
showing that they came from the 
Province of Ancona in ancient Italy 
where they were bred patiently by the 
Italian peasants for generations. In 
their native country they have always 
been considered superior to other 
breeds in the production of eggs, in 
beauty of plumage and in quality of 
meat. 

Back around 1850 they were import¬ 
ed into England and about 1890 the 
first importations were made into the 
United States, where they have con¬ 
tinued to gain steadily in popular favor 
in spite of strong competition from 
other more firmly established breeds. 

It was some time previous to their 
introduction into England that Belgium 
sought them in large numbers because, 
of their most pronounced character¬ 
istic—to lay well in winter. 

Many have wondered how it is that 
a breed originating in a warm country 
like Italy could be so efficient as an 
egg producer during our cold American 
winters. The explanation probably 
lies in the fact that the Province of 
Ancona, is a mountainous country 
where cold temperature prevails. Bit¬ 
ter winds from Northern Europe sweep 
over it. Thus the Ancona type has,, 
since its inception, been bred to pro¬ 
duce eggs under unfavorable condi¬ 
tions. 

Among American poultry breeds to 







71 


HISTORY OP ANCONAS 


clay two varieties of Anconas are recog¬ 
nized. These are distinguished by their 
combs, one being rose comb and the 
other single comb. The single comb, 
which was the first imported into this 
country, is much more commonly bred. 
There is no difference in the body 
shape or plumage pattern. The two 
varieties are identical with the excep¬ 
tion of the comb character. 

The American Ancona is somewhat 
similar to the Leghorn in body shape, 
with the exception that the body is a 
little deeper and a little longer. They 
are slightly shorter of leg than the 
Leghorn, which makes them look pro¬ 
portionately smaller than they really 
are. The standard Ancona color is 
what might be defined black mottled 
with white. The black is rich and 
lustrous and, in contrast to the clean, 
sharp white, makes a very pleasing ap¬ 
pearance. The ideal Ancona feather 
is black throughout its entire length 
with a slight greenish sheen with the 
tip pure white. The demarkation be¬ 
tween the black and white is sharp and 
distinct. 

Anconas must be cared for as much 
as any other Mediterranean breed. In 
our climate they must be housed well 
and both males and females alike dur¬ 
ing the winter must be given neces¬ 
sary protection to keep their combs 
from freezing. 

They should be allowed from 3 to 4 


square feet of floor space in the laying 
house and they should be given espec¬ 
ially large quantities of mash and grain 
as their production increases. 

They are naturally heavy layers. In 
order to lay heavily any hen must be 
given an abundant supply of egg build¬ 
ing material. 

About 12 pounds of grain per day per 
100 birds is a satisfactory allowance 
for Anconas when they are laying 
heavily. Consuming this amount, they 
will eat just about the right amount of 
mash. 

But the best rule is to feed them all 
the grain they will clean up and still 
be anxious for more at feeding time. 
One should not overfeed them by al¬ 
lowing the grain to be in the litter, 
which puts the birds out of producing 
condition. 

The Anconas are gaining in popular¬ 
ity from day to day. When old exhibi¬ 
tion breeders take them up and when a 
hungry generation of poultry raisers is 
prone to give them serious considera¬ 
tion, they have surely won their way 
to a successful future. 

When one is looking for a light, ac¬ 
tive bird, laying a large white egg, and 
a bird which lays many of them, and 
many of them in the fall and winter, 
the Anconas are worthy of serious 

- ~ , • - 7 ' 

consideration. 




















72 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


-- - ^ ^ - '—■-—> ^ii 


Selecting Ancona Breeders 


■j py 




By W. D. White 


I advise a breeder to select the An¬ 
cona he wishes to use in his breeding 
pen, and note the different points, one 
by one, as he handles his bird. 

Place the left hand under the bird, 
with the forefingers between its legs, 
holding them firmly. This leaves the 
right hand free to manipulate the bird 
as desired. 

Let us now note a few points about 
the general appearance of the bird. Be¬ 
ginning at the head, is it distinctly 
masculine if a cock bird, if a hen is it 
decidedly feminine in character? We 
do not desire a male with a small fem¬ 
inine comb and head or a female with a 
beefy comb and masculine head. With 
the correct type in our mind or before 
us in picture given in the standard of 
perfection let us ask ourselves how the 
bodily appearance of the specimen in 
hand compares with the standard, turn¬ 
ing the bird over in our hand to note 
its shape from all angles. Next ob¬ 
serve the legs and feet. We want the 
male with strong sturdy legs and the 
female with trim neat ones. Let us 
now note the general color, is it a light 
or dark specimen? Is the under color 
a dark slate or light inclined to white? 
Are the quills of the feathers white or 
black? Are the white mottlings of the 
feathers profuse or intermittent? Are 
the feet and legs dark or light yellow? 
Now notice carefully the following- 
points and determine whether the bird 
has any disqualifications. Has it green, 
blue or black legs? Has it any red 
or brown feathers in the hackle or else¬ 
where? Is there much red in the ear 
lobes or any positive white skin on the 
face? Are there any side sprigs or 


protuberances on the comb? Is the 
back or tail crooked or twisted? Is 
there much purple tinge or barring on 
the feathers? Now with this prelimi¬ 
nary survey of the bird in question we 
have well in mind its main character¬ 
istics, its strong points and its main 
defects or possible disqualifications. 

To know definitely the qualifications 
of the bird as a breeder for color, let 
us turn to the index of color of the An¬ 
cona (as the writer calls it). Opening 
the wing to the full extent, turn the 
bird over so you can see the row of 
small feathers on the inside of the wing 
at the base of the primary and secon¬ 
dary feathers. Note the proportionate 
amount of black and white in these. 
Are they all black? Are they tipped 
with white? Are there some that are 
all white? Your bird will be all black, 
evenly mottled, or splashed with a cer¬ 
tain number of white feathers accord¬ 
ing to the index as indicated by the 
above row of hidden feathers. If they 
show a preponderance of white you 
may look for white in six places; 
among the primary and secondary 
feathers of the wing, among the hackle 
feathers, especially at the base of the 
neck, among the feathers of the face, 
among the feathers on either hip, 
among the feathers at the base of the 
tail, and among the feathers of the tail. 
If white is found at the majority of 
these places and the under color is 
light instead of slate, the writer would 
not recommend this bird as a breeder 
for color in exhibition birds. 

Let us now notice some points as to 
the shape of the specimen. Hold the 
bird so you can look down on its back 










HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


73 


Note the point of each hip and the base 
of the neck to see if they form as 
should be an equilateral triangle or 
whether the neck is so far forward as 
to make a long narrow triangle. We 
do not want a long slab-sided bird, but 
one with broad hips and a well set 
neck and breast. Now turn the bird 
with its side toward you and note the 
three points of another triangle here; 
the base of the tail, the drum stick end 
of the leg, and the base of the neck. 
This triangle also should be equilateral. 
The breast should be full and well 
rounded out in front of this triangle 
and the abdomen should be well round¬ 
ed out behind the triangle. Beware of 
a bird that is hollow chested or pinched 
off behind. Now place right hand over 
the bird’s back just behind the wings, 
with thumb on one side and fingers on 
the other, and examine the ribs to see 
if they be well rounded (indicating 
good lung capacity), then draw hand 
back along the back to see if the hips 


are broad and whether this broadness 
extends well down to the base of the 
tail. With thumb along the breast 
bone and fingers along the back notice 
the depth (indicating heart capacity). 
See also if this depth extends well back 
toward the tail. Apply the well known 
Hogan test for distance between end 
of breast bone and pelvic bones, also 
distance between them and thinness 
of pelvics so as to form a conclusion as 
to the bird’s ability to produce eggs if 
a female and to be a utility breeder 
if a male. 

Note carefully the little feathers at 
the base of the comb on either side of 
the comb. It is claimed that if they 
are silghtly erect and curled at the end 
it indicates that the bird has good 
blood lines for egg production. The 
writer suggests that each breeder pro¬ 
cure a copy of the Standard of Perfec¬ 
tion and study his bird point by point 
to become familiar with the specifica¬ 
tions of a perfect Ancona. 






























74 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


Good Laying Demonstration 

The Milwaukee National Poultry 
Show, December, 1923, had over 3000 
birds on exhibition. There were but 
99 Anconas—72 females and 27 males. 
The 72 Ancona hens and pullets laid 
more eggs than all other varieties com¬ 
bined during the show! 

There is nothing unusual about this 
performance, as Anconas are showing 
the world at every opportunity that 
they beat all other breeds for egg pro¬ 
duction. 


C. R. Waltamath, 30 Woodside Ave., 
Gloversville, N. Y.: I think more every 
year of the Anconas. I have a back 
yard in the city, and have 72 pullets 
hatched after middle of May; began 
laying Sept. 30. I gathered 56 eggs to¬ 
day (Dec. 8), and they are ga’n'ng 
every day. 


Adolf Dittmann of Brownsville, Tex., 
had an Ancona cockerel crow at the 
age of one month and one day. 


Lingerlonger Ancona Farm, Weau- 
bleau, Mo., had Ancona cockerels 
crowing when but eleven days old— 
not just one, but over a dozen of them. 


F. G. Fish, Ashboro, N. Car., has 101 
Anconas and 33 Plymouth Rocks. The 
Rocks eat as much as all the Anconas. 
At eight weeks old the Ancona chicks 
weighed two ounces each more, than 
the Rock chicks, all in the same brood. 


Mrs. E. S. Larson, Route 5, Chanute, 
Kansas, raised four hundred Ancona 
chicks under one hover in 1922, and 
did not have one die. Cockerels in 
the bunch began crowing when seven¬ 
teen days old. 


ANCONAS VS. MEAT BREEDS 


By Leo M. French 

I used to carry Rhode Island Reds 
and Orpingtons, and now have 40 An¬ 
conas in the pens that would accom¬ 
modate but 30 of the heavier breeds. 

In feeding I used 15 for a unit with 
the meat breeds. With Anconas I use 
20 for a unit. I feed exactly the same 
amount to 40 Anconas that I did to 30 
of the heavier birds,—a gain of 33 1-3 
per cent of egg producing machinery 
without a cent of cost to operate. 

Another point is the weight. You 
hear it said that when you get through 
with a heavy breed, you have some¬ 
thing to sell. Conceded. But take 
them as a pen (or a flock.) 

The 30 Reds here mentioned should 
weigh 195 pounds. The 40 Anconas 
should weigh 180 pounds. What does 
the extra 15 pounds amount to, com¬ 
pared to the product of the 10 extra 
Anconas? 


Early Ancona Breeders in America. 

The names of breeders who first 
were interested in Anconas in America, 
are J. C. Branthoover, Huntington, 
West Virginia; Francis Mortimer, 
Pottsville, Pennsylvania; William Ed¬ 
ward Penny, Millerstown, New York. 

The details and date of the importa- 

• • 

tions of Anconas from England by 
these breeders is uncertain, but they 
were Ancona pioneers and without 
doubt were the men who first intro¬ 
duced the breed into this country. 













HISTORY OP ANCONAS 


75 




Ancona B anfams 








Ancona Bantams have been bred 
for several years in England, and the 
writer arranged with a leading Eng¬ 
lish breeder to ship some to this coun¬ 
try. But after months of delay the 
breeder advised that he was unable to 
ship any birds. That was in 1921 and 
1922. 

In 1923 Frank Stier of Cleveland 
attempted to import some rose and 
single comb Ancona Bantams, but 
without success. 

We have heard that previous to 
these dates there were Ancona Ban¬ 
tams in both the United States and 
Canada, but we never saw them ad¬ 
vertised, pictured or exhibited. 

Thomas Foy of West Winfield, Pa., 
is the first breeder who actually had 
Ancona Bantams in this country, to 
handle on a commercial basis. His 
wife visited in England late in 1922 
and secured birds of both single and 
rose comb variety, and Mr. Foy bred 


some pens of each before he accepted 
any orders for eggs or birds. We had 
a number of snap shots of his birds, 
and hoped to have engravings of An¬ 
cona Bantams made for this book, 
but none of the pictures were good 
enough for the purpose. 

We also had considerable corres¬ 
pondence with Ancona Bantam breed¬ 
ers in England and Wales, but they 
also were unable to supply pictures. 

It may be said that Ancona Bantams 
are yet in an undeveloped and unfin¬ 
ished state, and it will be at least a 
few years before we can expect them 
to become refined and established, and 
bred very generally. 

Without question, a mottled Ban¬ 
tam of either comb would be very at¬ 
tractive and popular, and we hope the 
pioneers in producing and perfecting 
them will be successful, which they 
undoubtedly will, by exercising skill 
and persistency. 



/ 





























































76 

- 



HISTORY OF ANCONAS 






















HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


77 


| These Are j 
Typewriter Times! 


Be you merchant, banker, f 
f manufacturer, office man or | 
= woman, agent, mechanic, farm- I 
I er, salesman, teacher, student, j 
i you can use a typewriter to 
I advantage. 



The Corona is the original j 
j Portable Typewriter. The new | 
J model has many points of su- = 


periority. | 

The price is $50 cash, or $5 § 
down and $5 per month for ten | 


months. Send for circulars to 

The Ancona World 
Franklinville, N. Y. 



LABELS FOR HATCHING EGGS 


In shipping hatching eggs by mail or 
express the packages must be plainly 
labeled, else the shippers may be un¬ 
able to have their claims paid if there 
is loss or damage in transit. 

A gummed label 3V2 xiy 2 inches, 
printed in red ink, “Hatching Eggs, 
Keep from Heat or Cold,” is supplied 
in packages of 125 for fifty cents, or 
five packages for $2. Sent by mail 
postpaid, same day order is received. 
The Ancona World, Franklinville, New 
York. 


•- ** 

JOB LOT SPECIAL. 

Ancona breeders doing any j 
§ considerable business by mail | 
I use nicely printed stationery. I 
| It is not expensive when bought j 
in quantites of 250 to 1000. = 

But there are many smaller I 
breeders who use a limited a- I 
mount and are justified in buy- f 
ing in smaller quantity. To s 
I meet their needs we are making J 
j a special offer of 
f 100 noteheads, 
i 100 envelopes, I 

100 shipping tags, 
f 100 business cards, 
s For an even $5. They will be | 

I neatly printed, using suitable 1 
] Ancona cuts, and promptly sent j 
= by prepaid insured parcel post to f 
i any address. i 

When you order, please write 1 
f very plainly, and send money j 
s order with the order. : 

! THE ANCONA WORLD. j 

i Franklinville, New York. : 

* I 


BINGO EGG STAMP 

The only stamp 
fiSSSi that will take 
from the flat 
0*“*"“) surface of an ink 
H ^ 'ZiSJy' pad and imprint 

/ mBrQi on the side or end of an egg. 
I j excellent way to get 

1 • / “repeat orders” for those 

* ' poultrymen who produce a 

superior article. 

Price of Bingo Egg Stamp alone $1.75 

Ready Inked Pad 50 cents. 

Set of moveable dates 50 cents. 

Die may include name, address, and 
words “Guaranteed Fresh.” Best results 
from not crowding too many letters into 
copy. 

Sent postpaid on receipt of price. 

The Ancona World, Franklinville, N. Y. 

















78 


HISTORY OF ANCONAS 


FOR SAFE AND CONVENIENT SHIPPING 


We have, during the past twenty years, used a great many different 
kinds of shipping packages for eggs, chicks and fowls, and those here 
described we believe to be the best, and cheapest. 

The egg boxes are roomy, very strong, convenient and attractive, and 
the same may be said of the baby chick boxes and shipping coops for fowls. 

We use them and recommend them to other breeders, and as we are 
concerned for the best interests of Ancona breeders throughout the land, 
we have arranged with the manufacturers to supply these goods. Send us 
your order with check to cover. Please note that egg and chick boxes are 
only furnished in full dozen packages of any size, while shipping coops may 
be assorted in half dozen lots of differtn sizes. Must be sent by express. 


EGG BOX CHICK BOX SHIPPING COOP 



HATCHING EGG BOX 


BABY CHICK BOX 


SHIPPING COOP 


15 egg size, per doz $2.50 25 chick size, doz $1.50 21 x 12 x 22 per doz $6.60 

30 egg size, per doz 3.80 50 chick size, doz 2.00 21 x IS x 22 per doz 7.60 

50 egg size, per doz 5.00 100 chick size, doz 2.60 21 x 24 x 22 per doz 8.60 


THE ANCONA WORLD, FRANKLINVILLE, N. Y. 































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library of 


CONGRESS 






































